Barcelona’s Jordi Alba and Dani Alves are available for selection in the upcoming matches after testing negative for the COVID-19 virus on Monday.
The Blaugrana are entering a crucial phase in 2021/22, one that could determine their Champions League aspirations for the upcoming season. They have a tight schedule in the next few weeks and need to up the ante, or the likes of Sevilla and Real Betis could trump them by the end of this season.
At such an important juncture in the season, manager Xavi Hernandez has received some great news as the club welcome back two players who had tested positive for COVID recently. Barcelona had eight players ruled out for their game against Mallorca as they had tested positive before the game, but full-backs Jordi Alba and Dani Alves are set to join the club soon.
These players had tested positive early on, and they were in isolation, keeping up with the medical protocols. The isolation period in Spain has been reduced to a week recently, which means that both players can be back on the field if they can provide a negative COVID test. This will provide some relief for the fans, who have remained quite frustrated this season.
Barca’s 1-0 win against Mallorca in LaLiga came courtesy of a goal from Luuk de Jong, who headed from close range off an Oscar Mingueza cross. The game turned out to be quite eventful towards the end, but the Catalans managed to scamper through with all three points in their bag.
This will be a perfect opportunity for Barcelona to welcome back one of its greatest-ever players in Alves, who is currently the most decorated player in history. A lot of his success came with the Blaugrana in his first spell, which lasted from 2008 to 2016, including two treble-winning seasons.
The full-back then had brief spells at Juventus (2016 – 2017) and Paris Saint-Germain (2017 – 2019), before moving back to Brazil to represent Sao Paulo (2019 – November 2021). Amidst the great crisis his former club is going through, Barcelona offered him a chance to come back, and he decided to sign a deal until June 2022.
Xavi’s side will be up against Granada in another tricky away contest on Saturday.
