Barcelona superstar in a race against time to be fit for El Clasico vs Real Madrid

Only five days remain before Barcelona take on arch-rivals Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the 2023/24 season.

And, leading up to the game, Barça manager Xavi Hernandez is still sweating over the availability of a number of important players who are currently out injured.

Sergi Roberto and Jules Kounde are definitively ruled out of the contest, as confirmed by Xavi himself on Sunday.

That leaves Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Raphinha, and Robert Lewandowski and there is some hope that the quartet could return in time for the game.

Lewandowski in a race against time
Late on Monday, reports emerged claiming that Lewandowski, along with Raphinha, was in the final stretch of his recovery, fuelling the hopes of his return for the Real Madrid encounter.

However, a fresh report from Polish journalist Tomas Wlodarczyk is now reporting that the veteran striker is in a race against time to be fit and ready for the first El Clasico of the season.

Lewandowski suffered an ankle injury during the UEFA Champions League clash against FC Porto and is working hard on his rehabilitation.

The aforementioned report from Tomas Wlodarczyk claims that the 35-year-old hitman underwent fresh tests on Monday, the results of which indicate that his recovery is on track and going as per plans.

However, his presence for the potential top-of-the-table clash against Real Madrid is still far from certain.

What about the others?
As far as the other three injured players are concerned, Pedri was expected to be back in action by this time, but the club are taking no risks with him given his past record with injuries.

As such, the 20-year-old’s involvement in the Clasico remains shrouded in uncertainty.

As for Raphinha, he appears to be the best placed to make a comeback in time for the big game at this time while De Jong seems more likely to miss the clash.