Memphis put on ice for Levante match to ensure fitness for Frankfurt

This Sunday, Barcelona take a trip to the Ciutat de Valencia to face Levante on matchday 31 of the La Liga season. 'Los Azulgranas', need to win the match should they want to consolidate their position in the table. They are now second after beating Sevilla last weekend to leapfrog them in the table. 

For the league match, Xavi Hernandez will be able to call on Luuk de Jong, who has now recovered from COVID-19 and returned to the group. However, his compatriot, Memphis, has still remained a doubt despite being back in full training this week.

The daily paper, 'AS', has now confirmed that the ex Lyon player will not feature in the match against 'Los Granotas' at all. A few days ago he picked up a hamstring niggle which has prevented him from feeling 100% fit.

The Barca doctors would rather not force Memphis back onto the pitch when he is not quite yet back to full fitness. Instead, they would prefer to wait until he is 100% fit to play him in the vital clash at the Camp Nou against Frankfurt in the return leg of their Europa League quarter final tie.

Xavi and his team drew 1-1 in the first leg and they will need a win at the Camp Nou to see themselves amongst the four teams left in the competition, as the away goals rule no longer counts in the tournament. If this rule was in effect, Barca would have been able to make it to the semis with a 0-0 draw.