Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti out with another knee injury
The Barcelona center back could miss the rest of the season.
Barcelona will be without defender Samuel Umtiti for their match against Villarreal and may not play again this season after picking up another injury.
According to Diario Sport, the Frenchman is suffering once again with discomfort in his left knee and will undergo conservative treatments.
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This is not the first time he’s had knee troubles as that same issue has forced him to miss a good chunk of the last two seasons.
The last time he was anywhere near fully fit was during France’s 2018 World Cup winning run. Since then, Umtiti’s been in and out of the squad with knee issues.
The situation came to a bit of a head leading up to the new year when he had a choice to either get surgery on the knee or opt for conservative treatments.
He chose the latter and now it seems like choosing surgery would have been the better option.
He has looked nowhere near the defender he used to be and cannot stay healthy for more than a couple of games. He also suffered an injury weeks before the league restart.
Umtiti is one of the players Barcelona want to sell.
His future at Barcelona looks bleak as he is one of the players the club look to move on from. Initially signed from Lyon back in 2016, he quickly became a starter under Luis Enrique and it looked like the Catalans finally found the center back they’ve been searching for.
Before the knee injury, he was largely considered one of the best center-backs in the world. But he played that 2018 World Cup with the injury and while France won it all, he’s paying the consequences for that now.
He’s third choice at best behind Gerard Pique and fellow Frenchman Clement Lenglet and will likely find himself on a new team next season.
His inability to stay healthy has cost him both in terms of his performances on the pitch and simply being available for selection.
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Barcelona signed Umtiti for €25 million and will not try to recuperate close to what they paid for him. If he can stay healthy, he would be a good option for a number of clubs. But as we’ve seen the last two seasons, that’s a big if.