Barcelona midfielder Gavi has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, the club have confirmed.
The 19-year-old suffered the injury while playing for Spain in Sunday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Georgia, limping off the pitch in the opening 25 minutes.
Barca said in a statement that tests carried out on Monday morning showed he had a “complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and an associated injury to the lateral meniscus”.
He will undergo surgery in the next few days.
The extent of the injury is a major blow for Barcelona, who are currently third in LaLiga, with Gavi establishing himself as a key player in their squad since making his debut aged 17 in August 2021, making 111 appearances.
He won the league title with Barca last season and played 15 times for them this term.
Spain won the match 3-1 over Georgia and his Barcelona team-mate Ferran Torres celebrated his second-half goal by holding Gavi’s shirt.
Spain boss Luis de la Fuente described the win as “bittersweet” after the match.
He said: “It’s one of the most bittersweet victories I’ve ever had. As far as I can remember, it is the hardest, most painful moment, to see an important player like Gavi suffer such an injury.
“It is a very difficult moment for the player, for his club, for the RFEF (Spanish Football Federation), for the national team and for all his teammates. In the dressing room we felt that we had lost. This is the ugly side of football.
“Football is sometimes a risky activity that we often forget to appreciate. It was an unfortunate incident but Gavi was perfectly prepared to play the game and it was just unlucky, really, really unlucky.”
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