'Ansu Fati can get back to old levels' - Surgeon confident Barcelona attacker can revive career

Dr. Ramon Cugat, the surgeon who was responsible for conducting a surgery on Ansu Fati's knee after he suffered a serious, long-term knee injury believes the 22-year-old Barcelona forward can revive his career as his knee has completely recovered.

Fati burst on to the scene in the 2019-20 season and made his debut for the first team even before making a single appearance with the reserves. At the age of 16, Fati bewildered everyone with his immense maturity and output and was hailed as Lionel Messi's successor.

That prophecy, though, was prevented from coming true due to the player's rotten luck with injuries. A meniscus tear on one of his knees in November 2020 forced the player to spend 10 months on the sidelines, and he hasn't been the same player ever since.

Barcelona recalled him to the club after an unsuccesful loan spell at Brighton in the 2023-24 season, but he suffered a foot injury during pre-season that led him to remain out of action for a further two months. He made a few starts after returning to fitness, but suffered a hamstring injury last week that will keep him out of action until mid-December.

Fati's injury problems have become a big cause of concern for the Catalans, who are ready to offload the player in January. His surgeon, however, believes that the player can still become an important player at Barca.

Cugat, the surgeon who operated Fati's knee, told Cadena SER (h/t @BarcaTimes): "I performed the surgery on Ansu Fati, but I was not responsible for his rehabilitation. The knee completely recovered and there was no problem. Ansu's father told me that the knee is fine, and that the current problem was in the hamstring and not in the knee itself.

"What happened was that the stitches opened up due to the player training hard himself, working out twice a day instead of once, which caused the knee to swell. I think that the doctor who performs the surgery should be in coordination with the one who is in charge of the rehabilitation. Ansu can return to his previous condition, his knee is at a 100% now."

Fati will continue to work hard in order to be sharp once he returns from his latest injury setback in December. With the fixtures set to become more congested as the season wears on, Flick could probably rely on Fati, and the player would be keen to grasp every single opportunity that comes his way.

Barcelona will return to action this Saturday, November 23, when they face a tricky away fixture against Celta Vigo in LaLiga. Lamine Yamal has been confirmed to miss the game, which will raise doubts in the minds of Flick and his troops, as the Blaugrana have lost both their league games this season when Yamal was either on the bench or not in the squad.