Barcelona were dealt with a major boost this week as injured defender Andreas Christensen returned to group training.
The Dane, who has been out of action since the start of the season due to an operation in his Achilles tendon, is now back and training with the team.
Christensen eyeing January return
Christensen’s return to training is going to be a huge boost for Barcelona, but the question stands: When will the defender be ready to feature again for the Catalans?
SPORT suggests the former Chelsea defender is making gradual progress towards his end goal, which is to become ready to play for Barcelona by January.
It appears the Dane has shown good early signs, especially when it comes to ball contact. He completed the session with comfort as well.
Christensen is expected to be ready in January (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
A goal of January return means Christensen has a solid month to prepare and work on his fitness, before he eventually becomes ready to start.
This also goes in line with how Barcelona have approached injured players this season, giving them time to recover rather than rushing them back onto the field.
Barça adopted a similar strategy with midfielder Gavi and defender Ronald Araujo. They will follow the same for Christensen as well, it seems.
From a sporting perspective, Christensen’s return should hand Flick even more depth in the defensive unit and prevent him from being overly reliant on the services of Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi.
On the flip side, though, the Dane’s return could greatly impact Eric Garcia’s future on the team, with the former Man City starlet already becoming an invisible entity at the club.