Injury crisis at Barcelona: 28-year-old forward likely to miss Napoli encounter

Memphis Depay’s stocks at Barcelona have been on an exponential decline since Xavi’s arrival. The Dutch striker does not have a natural position in the new manager’s lineup, and players like Ferran Jutgla, Ez Abde, and even Luuk de Jong have seen more minutes.

However, the biggest reason for his exclusion from the team dynamics has been his unfortunate series of injuries. His most recent setback was a muscular problem on his left thigh at the end of January that has forced him out of action for close to two weeks.

The former Olympique Lyonnais captain was expected to return for the Catalans’ clash against Napoli. However, that does not seem to be the case now.

According to reports from Mundo Deportivo, Depay will miss Barcelona’s Europa League game on Thursday too. The club do not want to take any risks with the Dutch forward and have opted for the cautious approach.

Ronald Araujo, too, has been reportedly ruled out of the Europa League clash, and Memphis’ absence adds salt to the wounds.

Earlier this week, Xavi commented about the striker’s delayed recovery from injury and mentioned that it would be at least another week before he could feature again.

“Memphis is fine, but he won’t be with the group until next week.”

Under Ronald Koeman, Depay was the protagonist of Barcelona’s attack scoring six goals and providing two assists in just 11 starts. Since the Dutch manager’s departure, however, he has only managed to find the back of the net twice.

The arrival of Ferran Torres, Adama Traore and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang make it difficult for the 28-year-old to find a way back into the team. Moreover, the emergence of Luuk de Jong pegs him further down the pecking order.