In a season of many bright spots and few dark spots, Gavi's return to the pitch has been one of the best pieces of news for FC Barcelona. The youth-team player felt like a footballer again on October 20, when he came onto the pitch at the Estadi Olimpic de Montjuïc against Sevilla after being out for 335 days.
The midfielder came on in the 83rd minute to replace Pedri and the Barcelona fans gave him a thunderous ovation. Later, throughout a dream week for the Blaugrana team, although one of maximum demand, the Andalusian had a minor participation in the duels against Bayern Munich (5 minutes) and Real Madrid (3 minutes).
However, these late arrivals of the player from Los Palacios are part of Barça's plan. Although the player is physically at his best and if it were up to him he would play the full 90 minutes of every game, Hansi Flick's technical staff want to be extremely cautious as his progress is set to go from less to more.
Barça's roadmap with Gavi
The Catalans' idea is to take advantage of the most favourable moments of the calendar, which is why, for example, Gavi is expected to have a greater role this Sunday in the derby against Espanyol. The club's roadmap involves testing him with playing time closer to half an hour than the 'little while' he has had so far, although this plan is subject to the development of the matches and the coach's needs at any given time.
For the German, a full-fledged Gavi could be fundamental to the success of the season, which is why he holds him in high regard and is closely following his progress. The first big test of the season for the footballer could come on 3 November.