Ansu Fati: From footballing heaven to injury hell

If anyone has defied expectations in recent years, it's Ansu Fati. The Barcelona attacker came out of nowhere to stun the world in 2019/20 by breaking countless records.

He made it all look easy and was quickly identified as Camp Nou's new idol and the star of the team.

His potential has been brought to a sharp halt by injuries, which were only added to on Thursday as he was forced off by a hamstring injury in the latest blow dating back to a meniscus injury in November 2020.

Similar injury to Dembele

Medical tests show that Fati has injured the tendon in his left hamstring, and in the next few days will undergo treatment which could keep him out for around two months.

The injury is similar to that suffered by Ousmane Dembele, though in his case it was a tear, which has not been confirmed in Fati's case, and he faced surgery.

A clash with Aissa Mandi on November 7, 2020, in a game against Real Betis saw him tear the internal meniscus in his left knee, which led to several surgeries.

Ansu Fati, con muletas tras lesionarse ante el Celta

Eleven months later, he returned by scoring against Levante.

He played in six games, being left out of the tie against Rayo Vallecano and Alaves due to pain in his right knee.

Four days after returning from that injury, he was again taken off due to injury in his let hamstring against Celta Vigo, the same injury as now suffered against Athletic.

The 19 year old had only been on the field for half an hour as Xavi rested him from the start, having only played 55 minutes in the Supercopa.

As he came off at Estadio San Mames, it was clear that Ansu was suffering mentally, as well as physically.

He remains the youngest Barcelona goalscorer in LaLiga Santander and their youngest starter at Camp Nou, among other records.

Injuries are now slowing his progress, forcing him to miss a total of 65 games to date, but with a contract until 2027, he remains one of the club's biggest hopes.

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