Reason for 18-year-old La Masia gem’s absence from Barcelona squad vs Osasuna – report

When Barcelona announced their squad list for the Osasuna clash earlier today, there was a surprise name left out by manager Xavi Hernandez.

Indeed, while young talents like Marc Casado, Hector Fort, and Pau Cubarsi made the list, along with Unai Hernandez, Marc Guiu was not included in the squad by the Barcelona boss.

Guiu, 18, has been a regular in the matchday squads for Barça of late, with the La Masia graduate even preferred over Vitor Roque by Xavi at times.

So, the striker’s absence did raise some eyebrows, but Toni Juanmarti of SPORT has now provided an update about the teenage starlet’s situation.

As per the report, Guiu did not take part in Tuesday’s first team training session either and, as a result, has been left out of the list.

The reason for that is that the 18-year-old centre-forward is suffering from a fever that has kept him away from training and subsequently the matchday squad for the Osasuna encounter.

With Guiu and Joao Felix both unavailable, Xavi opted to rope in Unai Hernandez to have an additional attacking option on the bench.

Guiu, 18, has played 120 minutes of football across five matches for Barcelona this season, scoring two goals in the process.

A young talent, he is tipped for a bright future and is certain to have more minutes in the games to come once he has recovered from his fever.