Barcelona new signing ruled out of season opener vs Getafe, midfield duo will return

Barcelona will kick off the defence of their La Liga title in a little over a week when they take on Getafe away at Coliseum Alfonso Perez.

And, as per Sergi Capdevila of SPORT, Barcelona’s summer signing Inigo Martinez is pretty much ruled out of the La Liga opener as things stand.

Inigo Martinez yet to train with the entire squad

Barcelona signed Martinez last month, with the defender arriving as a free agent after his contract at Athletic Club had expired.

However, despite having been at the club for nearly a month, the veteran centre-half has still not participated in group training sessions with the rest of the squad.

Instead, the Spanish international has been largely working individually as he continues to recover from the fascia injury he suffered last season while still with Athletic.

With Barcelona in no hurry to rush his recovery, Martinez did not feature for a single minute on the pre-season tour of the USA where the team played three friendlies against Arsenal, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.

And, with Martinez still not back in training, at the moment, he is considered to be ruled out of the match against Getafe.

Gavi, Gundogan expected to be back soon

Along with Martinez, another prominent name who did not receive a single minute on the US tour was Gavi, as he was dealing with a back issue.

But the report states that the 18-year-old midfield prodigy is close to completing his recovery and should be back in time for the Joan Gamper Trophy match against Tottenham Hotspur next week.

Along with Gavi, Ilkay Gundogan, who missed the last friendly against Milan due to a minor knock, is also expected to recover in time to face Spurs.

If things go according to plan, the midfield duo should be available for selection against Getafe next weekend. As for Martinez, fans will have to wait for his Barcelona debut.