Barcelona midfielder set to miss Rayo Vallecano game after continued training absence
· Yahoo Sports
FC Barcelona completed their final training session at the Ciutat Esportiva ahead of Monday’s match against Rayo Vallecano, at the Spotify Camp Nou, in the third matchday of La Liga 2026-27.
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The objective is to maintain their place at the top of the table and extend their unbeaten home run, which could reach 21 matches when the 19 home league games from last season are included.
For the match, Hansi Flick has all available first-team players at his disposal apart from Frenkie de Jong, while Gavi will also be unavailable for the game, as per Mundo Deportivo.
Gavi remains out
Barça beat Athletic Club on Thursday, held their usual recovery session on Friday, trained collectively on Saturday and completed another session on Sunday.
However, Gavi has still not returned to group training. The La Masia product was forced off during the opening match of the season against Elche at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero after taking a knock to his right knee.
Flick explained on Wednesday that the club expected Gavi to need around a week before returning to training with his teammates.
Gavi will miss the Rayo Vallecano clash. (Photo by Francisco Macia/Getty Images)
The midfielder is therefore expected to resume normal work after the Rayo match, with the aim of preparing for the fourth league fixture against Valencia.
Considering that he was involved at the World Cup with Spain and returned to pre-season late, it makes sense for Barcelona to not rush things with Gavi, especially given his past issues with knee injuries.
Livakovic continues his integration
The player who has trained normally for a third consecutive session is Dominik Livakovic. The Croatian goalkeeper signed a four-year contract and watched Thursday’s victory over Athletic from the Spotify Camp Nou.
Livakovic has yet to be registered in La Liga. (Photo courtesy: FC Barcelona official website)
However, Eder Aller could be included in the squad because Livakovic has yet to be registered.
Jesse Bisiwu is still waiting to resolve the necessary administrative issues that would allow him to compete, but continues to train with the first team alongside Brian Farinas and Hamza Abdelkarim.
Meanwhile, Marc Casado was again absent as he continues to resolve his future at the club. Roony Bardghji remains unavailable after suffering an ACL injury during pre-season, which blocked his exit from Barcelona.