Barcelona loanee Nico Gonzalez to undergo surgery, confirms Gattuso: “Out for three months”

Valencia manager Gennaro Gattuso has confirmed that Barcelona loanee Nico Gonzalez will undergo surgery after fracturing his foot and will be out of action for almost three months.

Nico left Barcelona to join Valencia on loan during the summer in search of regular game-time. However, the young midfielder has been unable to nail down a regular berth in Gattuso’s side.

So far, the 20-year-old has played just 592 minutes across 13 matches for Los Che, scoring one goal in the process.

Nico sustained the injury in Valencia’s latest match against Villarreal, following which the La Liga side had confirmed that the midfielder had suffered a metatarsal fracture in his left foot.

It was initially reported that the Barcelona youngster would be out on the sidelines for two months.

But Gattuso has claimed that the duration could be a little longer, as he said (h/t Fabrizio Romano): “Nico will undergo surgery in Barcelona and he will be out for almost three months.”

This development comes as a big blow for Nico, who had joined Valencia in order to play regularly and stake a claim for a spot in Xavi’s plans at Barcelona for next season. But the injury means that he will miss a good chunk of the ongoing campaign.

A product of the Catalans’ La Masia youth setup, Nico made his first-team breakthrough under Ronald Koeman and made 37 senior appearances before joining Valencia on loan last summer.

Once tipped as the future of the Barcelona midfield unit, it will be interesting to see whether he can carve out a place for himself in Xavi’s plans next season.

For now, the young midfielder will be focusing on his surgery and recovering swiftly from the injury.