Barcelona receives major injury boost, as Marc Cucurella suffers criticism in Croatia

Barcelona have received a boost ahead of their La Liga return against Getafe, with goalkeeper Joan Garcia returning to full team training after recovering from a knee injury.

Garcia was forced off during Barcelona’s match against Racing on 16 September after hurting his right knee. 

Although the injury was not considered serious, it ruled him out for the second half of that game and the subsequent trip to Sevilla, and kept him out of Spain’s squad.

The goalkeeper trained with his Barcelona teammates on Wednesday, raising the possibility that he could return to the starting lineup when Hansi Flick’s side hosts Getafe at the Spotify Camp Nou on Saturday. Garcia has established himself as Flick’s first-choice goalkeeper.

Raphinha, however, remains unavailable as he has yet to return to collective training. The Brazilian winger came back early from international duty after suffering an injury to the back of his right thigh.

Frenkie de Jong also continued his return from a knee injury that has kept him out since August, although he took part in only part of Wednesday’s session. Roony and Andreas Christensen remain on Barcelona’s injury list.

Several internationals also returned to training, including Jules Kounde, Joao Cancelo, Marc Bernal, Xavi Espart and Hamza Abdelkarim. 

Other players who represented their countries, including Spain internationals and Dominik Livakovic, are expected back on Thursday as Barcelona prepare to host Getafe.

Meanwhile, Marc Cucurella has come under heavy criticism in Croatia after Spain’s 2-1 Nations League victory over Croatia, with local media labeling the Spanish defender “public enemy number one.”

Croatia took the lead through Ivan Perisic, who put the hosts ahead against the world champions. 

Spain eventually equalized through substitute Mikel Merino before the game took another turn with 10 minutes remaining.

Perisic, who was already on a yellow card, brought Cucurella down while stopping a promising Spain attack. 

The referee dropped his red card while making the decision, and Cucurella picked it up and handed it back to the official.

The referee subsequently sent Perisic off, leaving Croatia with 10 players for the closing stages. 

Merino then scored his second goal to complete Spain’s comeback and secure a 2-1 victory.

Cucurella’s role in the dismissal angered supporters in Croatia, with a local broadcaster criticizing the defender for picking up the referee’s card and appearing to encourage the sending-off. 

The broadcaster argued that the gesture was unacceptable regardless of the circumstances of the foul.