Barcelona star Ronald Araujo looks set to be fit and ready for the World Cup following a late injury scare that led to a brief return to Catalonia.
The defender picked up a calf injury recently that had everyone in Uruguay worried about whether the defender would be fit enough to play at this summer's World Cup. But Barca stepped in to aid Araujo's rapid recovery, and there is good news.
Araujo heading for North America
As reported by Mundo Deportivo, Araujo returned from his national team camp to receive treatment from FC Barcelona's medical staff, who are among the best in the world.
Araujo is said to have undergone some compressed treatment for the injury, given the rush to get back, and soon after returning to Barcelona, he was back on the plane to Montevideo, ready to link up with his Uruguay teammates, who will be heading to their World Cup base this week.
The calf injury will need to be nursed, but it's not believed to be a concern for the World Cup campaign. Although, it is of course not out of the question that it could be an issue as the tournament goes on, given how so many games are crammed into a small period of time.
The Uruguay team statement confirmed that Araujo would not be involved in any training on Monday, but that he will return to team activities on Tuesday, with the flight to North America set for Tuesday evening.
The Barcelona star is one of Uruguay's best players as they head for the World Cup under Marcelo Bielsa. The South Americans face Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde and Spain in the group stage, and they should be confident of advancing as the second best team in that group.
The downside for Araujo in receiving the treatment is the level of travel his body has been through. Given he has gone from South America to Europe, back to South America and will next travel to North America, it would be wise for the Uruguay setup to be cautious with his workload over the next few days.
But for now, they will surely be very grateful to have Araujo available for the World Cup, and for Barca to lending a helping hand. It will now be a case of fingers crossed for Araujo to make it to the opening game with Saudi Arabia, and indeed through the rest of the competition without any injury setbacks.
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