Ronald Araujo suffered minor cheekbone fracture against Atletico Madrid

Ronald Araujo captained Barcelona to a 1-0 win over Atletico

Ronald Araujo, a defender for FC Barcelona, reportedly had a minor cheekbone fracture during Sunday’s victory over Atletico Madrid, per SPORT.

Barca defeated Diego Simeone’s team 1-0 at the Montjuic Stadium to maintain their hopes of winning La Liga. Joao Felix, who is on loan from Atleti, was the star of the match after scoring an incredible goal in the first half against his parent team.

However, several other players, like Araujo, were playing at their best, and the defence supported Inaki Pena, a replacement for Marc-Andre ter Stegen, in maintaining a clean sheet.

After missing three games due to a lower back injury sustained while serving with his country, Pena and his team made a significant choice that appears to have him replacing the German for the foreseeable future.

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Araujo may not be able to shield Pena in the next few days, as another crucial La Liga match against second-place Girona looms. Ter Stegen is now in a race against the clock to be ready for the Champions League round of 16 in mid-February.

“After intensive conversations with the medical team of the Club and various supporting experts, we decided to undergo a surgical procedure,” Ter Stegen wrote on social media.

“The break obviously annoys me. It is the right and safe decision to come back in the best conditions for my Club FC Barcelona and the National Team,” he added.

Nevertheless, the club believes that in Ter Stegen’s absence, the “number one captain” can guide the first squad and defend the line against Girona, where a victory would put them inside one point of their exceeding expectations Catalan rivals.

This season, Barca has already lost Araujo for more than a month after the 26-year-old sustained a muscular ailment in August that prevented him from playing in seven games.

Fortunately for Xavi, it seems that this time there won’t be any absences.

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