{"id":82412,"date":"2026-09-08T06:50:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T06:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/82412\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T06:50:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T06:50:10","slug":"barcelona-fan-favourite-emerges-as-key-rotation-option-for-feyenoord-and-levante-after-complete-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/82412\/","title":{"rendered":"Barcelona fan-favourite emerges as key rotation option for Feyenoord and Levante after complete recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barcelona have received a timely boost with Gavi back in contention for upcoming matches against Feyenoord and Levante after recovering from the knee problem that briefly interrupted his start to the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundodeportivo.com\/futbol\/fc-barcelona\/20260907\/1004224500\/gavi-tope-aumentar-recursos-barca-lanzado.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Mundo Deportivo<\/a>, the 22-year-old midfielder is now expected to feature in Hansi Flick\u2019s rotation plans, beginning with Wednesday\u2019s meeting with Feyenoord.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/hansi-flick-facing-several-selection-doubts-as-barcelona-prepare-for-valencia-clash\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Gavi returned to the squad<\/a> at the weekend after missing Barcelona\u2019s home victories over Athletic Club and Rayo Vallecano because of discomfort.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was named among the substitutes for Sunday\u2019s 5-0 win at Valencia but did not enter the game. His presence on the bench was nevertheless another indication that the injury is behind him.<\/p>\n<p>Gavi back after Elche scare<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gavi\u2019s injury initially raised concerns after Barcelona\u2019s opening-day victory at Elche.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The midfielder started the 5-0 win but was <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/confirmed-barcelona-midfielders-injury-not-serious-will-be-back-in-training-soon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">forced to ask for a substitution<\/a> shortly before half-time after experiencing discomfort.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"724\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fc-barcelona-v-athletic-club-laliga-ea-sports-2026-27-22-1024x724.jpg\" alt=\"Gavi, Barcelona player\" class=\"wp-image-212070\"  \/>Gavi will be a crucial rotation option for Hansi Flick. (Photo by Alex Caparros\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He subsequently missed the next two matches at Spotify Camp Nou against Athletic, which Barcelona won 2-0, and Rayo Vallecano, where they recorded a 5-2 victory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The problem ultimately proved to be a brief interruption rather than a serious setback.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gavi\u2019s return to the squad against Valencia suggests he has now recovered sufficiently to resume playing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rather than rushing him back into action during a match Barcelona were comfortably controlling, Flick left him on the bench.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That could change against Feyenoord, with Gavi now regarded as another option in the rotation.<\/p>\n<p>Flick has more midfield options<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/elche-cf-v-fc-barcelona-laliga-ea-sports-2026-27-5-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Gavi, Barcelona player\" class=\"wp-image-212069\"  \/>Gavi has not played since the opening matchweek. (Photo by Francisco Macia\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The timing of Gavi\u2019s return is particularly useful for Flick because Barcelona have considerable depth in the areas where he can operate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His natural position remains the midfield area where he can use his energy, aggression and ability to press, but Gavi has also previously been deployed higher up the pitch as a tactical solution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He has filled attacking-midfield and \u201cfalse winger\u201d roles, although those positions currently have other options.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ferm\u00edn Lopez and Dani Olmo can provide alternatives centrally, while Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi are among the players being used in wider areas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gavi\u2019s return therefore gives Flick greater freedom to rotate without asking the midfielder to operate outside his preferred role unnecessarily.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barcelona have received a timely boost with Gavi back in contention for upcoming matches against Feyenoord and Levante&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,222,223,728],"class_list":["post-82412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-barcelona-news","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-gavi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}