Barcelona star Pedri is ‘almost ruled out’ of the UEFA Nations League

Barcelona midfielder Pedri is ‘almost ruled out’ of the UEFA Nations League matches that Spain will play next month, reports journalist Sergio Santos.

Pedri picked up a slight knock during Barça’s 4-2 win over RCD Espanyol earlier this month – the match which confirmed their status as the new champions of La Liga.

Following that, the 20-year-old missed the La Liga game against Real Sociedad this past weekend while he has also been ruled out of tonight’s clash versus Real Valladolid.

Reports earlier today suggested that the midfielder was done for the season as Barça do not wish to take any risks with his fitness problems.

And it seems like the Spanish national team have also decided to take a similar approach with Pedri.

As per the report, Pedri is dealing with some muscle discomfort in his quadriceps region and the injury is not related to the one that he suffered earlier this season, which kept him out of action for two months.

However, given his workload over the past couple of seasons, Barça and Spain see this upcoming summer as the ideal time for the youngster to give his body some much-needed rest.

Pedri played over 70 games for club and country during the 2020/21 season, which saw him struggle with injuries in the last campaign. He has once again been used heavily by Xavi at Barcelona while he was a permanent fixture for Spain at the World Cup.

As such, new Spain boss Luis de la Fuente, who was unable to call on Pedri in March, has decided to not rush him back for the UEFA Nations League matches.

The manager sees the 20-year-old as a crucial cog in his plans and sees him as the linchpin in the next generation of the Spanish national team. As such, he wants Pedri to arrive at 100% fitness for the UEFA Euro 2024 next summer and would prefer to see him rest and recuperate right now.

La Roja play Italy in the semi-finals on June 15 and should they qualify for the finals, one of Croatia or Netherlands will await them.