Barcelona head coach Xavi has confirmed that midfielder Sergio Busquets will be available for Thursday's Europa League knockout round second leg against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The legendary Spaniard, who will turn 35 later this year, missed Thursday's thrilling 2-2 draw between the two clubs at Camp Nou through injury. He was ruled out of the meeting with the Reds because of an ankle problem he had sustained earlier this month.
Fortunately for the Spanish giants, however, they have strength in depth in midfield and Xavi was able to call upon United transfer target Frenkie de Jong, Franck Kessie and highly-rated youngsters Gavi and Pedri, all of whom started. However, Pedri was forced off during the first half with a muscular injury, for which he is expected to be sidelined for up to a month.
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To compound the La Liga heavyweights' woes further, Gavi was booked in the second half for a challenge on Fred, resulting in his third yellow card in European competitions this season. Every player who collects three yellow cards ahead of the semi-final stage of either the Champions League or the Europa League will be given a one-match ban, meaning Gavi will be unavailable for the clash at Old Trafford.
Fortunately, Xavi will have Busquets back available for selection, confirming that he is in contention to feature in Sunday evening's La Liga clash with Cadiz at Camp Nou.
"He is very important, vital for us," Xavi said, addressing Pedri's absence. "He makes a difference and gives us a lot, but there are other alternatives.
"Franck [Kessie] and Frenkie [de Jong] are doing well and [Sergio] Busquets is back. I hope we don't find him missing as much as a year ago.
"His absence is always noticeable. We have noticed. He is recovered and it is great news for us."
Meanwhile, Xavi was very complimentary in his post-match analysis of United on Thursday evening, telling BT Sport: "It was a really tough game, really difficult, with a lot of intensity, passion, rhythm. We have to be proud because we compete really well until the end.
"We could have won in the last two chances but we played today against a top team in Europe. I think Manchester is coming back, and today they showed their best version. We compete really well, we need to be proud, and now we need to compete well in Old Trafford."
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