Barcelona new signing finished Copa del Rey game with discomfort, fit for Real Madrid clash

When Barcelona played CA Osasuna in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final earlier this week, new arrival Vitor Roque did not play a single minute.

The 18-year-old striker, who joined the club from Athletico Paranaense a fortnight ago, did not even warm up or exercise during the clash in Saudi Arabia on Thursday night.

There were expectations that Roque could get some minutes especially with Barcelona looking to kill the game off in the final stages, but it was not to be.

Reason for Vitor Roque’s non-involvement revealed

Now, Toni Juanmarti of SPORT has come forward with a report detailing the reason behind Vitor Roque’s non-involvement against CA Osasuna.

As per the update, the teenage centre-forward suffered some minor muscular discomfort during the Copa del Rey encounter against UD Barbastro last weekend.

Roque returned from Barbastro with slight muscular discomfort in the back of his leg, which prevented him from training with the rest of his teammates on Tuesday before travelling to Saudi Arabia.

Tests ruled out an injury and the striker did take the field in the run-up to the clash against Osasuna, at least for the first 15 minutes of training, which was open to the media.

But manager Xavi Hernandez opted to not risk him against Osasuna on Thursday night.

Roque arrived at Barcelona in late December and made his debut against Las Palmas in La Liga, before featuring for around 20 minutes against Barbastro in the cup tie.

Given that he has only arrived at the club, the coaching and medical staff are taking extra care and precautions with Roque to avoid any further discomfort, which is why he was not involved vs Osasuna.

But the good news is that the former Athletico Paranaense player did complete the session with the rest of his teammates today, which indicates that his sensations have improved and that he is fit to play against Real Madrid in the Super Cup final.