Barcelona will face Real Madrid in the semifinals in Riyadh on Wednesday. The winner of the Clásico on Saudi soil will compete in the final against Atlético Madrid or Athletic Club for the Spanish Supercup on Sunday.
De Jong suffered a muscle injury last week in the difficult cup match against Linares (1-2). Without the Dutch midfielder, Xavi’s team lost points at Granada (1-1) in La Liga on Saturday. Attacker Fati was injured in early November. The 19-year-old Spain international had just recovered from a serious knee injury at the time and had scored three times in five league games.
The selection of Xavi for the trip to Saudi Arabia consists of 24 players, including Memphis Depay, Luuk de Jong and Sergiño Dest. Frenkie de Jong, Fati and Ronald Araújo (broken metacarpal bone) have not yet received permission from the medical staff to play football again, but they will travel with them. Pedri, Ferran Torres (both corona) and Eric García (injury) are missing from the selection, among others.