Barcelona midfielder rested for Royal Antwerp game as he is ill – report

Barcelona will lock horns with Royal Antwerp in their final UEFA Champions League group stage tomorrow night in Belgium.

With a place in the knockout stages secured and top spot in Group H almost ascertained, Xavi is expected to make a whole host of changes to the lineup for tomorrow’s game.

De Jong rested due to a fever

Initially, Xavi had announced the squad list for the trip to Belgium without four mainstays in Ilkay Gundogan, Frenkie de Jong, Robert Lewandowski, and Ronald Araujo.

But earlier today, the Barcelona manager made changes to the list, adding Gundogan, Lewandowski, and Araujo, but De Jong did not make it.

Now, Gerard Romero is reporting that Xavi opted to leave the Dutchman behind in Barcelona as the player is down with a fever and recovering.

The Netherlands international has already missed a chunk of matches this season with injury, but given that tomorrow’s contest is inconsequential, it makes sense for Barça not to risk him and give him to recover from the fever.

Why were the other three added?

As mentioned earlier, Xavi’s plan had been to rest Gundogan, Lewandowski, and Araujo as well, but the trio was included on the squad list today.

It was done because Barcelona will be returning from their trip to Belgium on Thursday. As such, the trio staying back in Catalonia would have meant that they would not train with the group for three days in a row, something that Xavi wanted to avoid.

Hence, the Barça boss opted to add the trio to the squad, but De Jong, due to his illness, will stay back.