Gavi travels as a morale boost for the dressing room | OneFootball

As reported by as.com, Hansi Flick has named five changes for Saturday’s trip to Athletic at San Mamés, with Robert Lewandowski and Eric García returning, B-team pair Xavi Espart and Álvaro Cortés called up, and Gavi included despite lacking medical clearance.

Lewandowski missed the Copa tie against Atlético de Madrid with trauma to his left eye, while García sat out through suspension. Their return is a welcome boost for the German coach after the midweek exertions.

Espart, a promising right-back, and Cortés, a versatile left-sided centre-back, cover for Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde. Both suffered tears in the left biceps femoris on Tuesday and are set to miss about a month.

Gavi is travelling as a morale boost ahead of the next two matches, Athletic and Newcastle, with the squad heading straight from Bilbao to England for Tuesday’s Champions fixture. He remains around three weeks from receiving the all-clear, and his presence is a lift for his team-mates.

Frenkie de Jong and Andreas Christensen also do not travel due to injury. Kick-off is at 21:00 in San Mamés. The squad: Joan, Szczesny, Cancelo, Araújo, Cubarsí, Eric, Gerard, Bernal, Casadó, Pedri, Fermín, Olmo, Lamine, Lewandowski, Ferran, Raphinha, Rashford, Roony, Kochen, Cortés, Tommy and Espart.

Source: as.com