Xavi provides crucial Ronald Araujo injury update as Barcelona star limps off in Tottenham friendly
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has provided an update on Ronaldo Araujo after it appeared that the defender had picked up an injury against Tottenham Hotspur on August 8.
The Blaugrana hosted Spurs at the Lluis Company Olympic Stadium for the Joan Gamper Trophy on Tuesday. They opened the scoring via Robert Lewandowski in the third minute before Oliver Skipp scored a brace for Tottenham in the first half itself.
Barca bounced back in the second half as Ferran Torres leveled in the 81st minute. Ansu Fati (90') and Abde Ezzalzouli (90+3') also scored a goal each to complete a 4-2 win for the hosts.
Barcelona had a moment of concern in the first half after Ronald Araujo had to be subbed off in the 32nd minute. The Uruguayan defender sprinted for the ball on the right wing but was beaten by Tottenham's Davinson Sanchez. Araujo immediately asked to be substituted and was replaced by Sergi Roberto.
Xavi has now confirmed that the Uruguayan right-back is not injured and that the substitution was just a precautionary measure. He said (via Barca Universal):
“Ronald Araujo is not injured.”
Araujo has become one of the key players for Barcelona since his senior debut in 2020. He has made 113 appearances for the club and contributed seven goals and three assists.
He helped Barca keep 18 clean sheets in 31 games across competitions last season.
Xavi on Barcelona's performance in win over Tottenham
The Blaugrana started off brilliantly against Spurs, scoring via Robert Lewandowski and creating multiple chances. However, it soon faded off as Spurs grew into the game.
Barcelona bounced back in the final 15 minutes but overall, it was a rather even game. The hosts maintained 56% possession and had eight shots on target out of 14 attempts compared to Tottenham's six out of 14.
After the game, manager Xavi admitted that his side weren't at their best, saying (via fcbarcelona.com):
"We ended the game really well but I don't think we played as well as we did against Real Madrid or AC Milan. We played against a good team, with plenty of pace and intensity and they had the better of us at times."
Barca had beaten Real Madrid 3-0 and AC Milan 1-0 in their pre-season friendlies prior to the Tottenham clash.
They will now begin their La Liga defense against Getafe away on August 13.