FC Barcelona confirmed today that USMNT starter Sergiño Dest has returned to full health and will be included in the squad to face Frankfurt in the second leg of their Europa League quarterfinal.
The American injured his hamstring in Barcelona’s Round of 16 game against Galatasaray on March 17, forcing him to miss several games for both club and country.
His presence was particularly missed in Barcelona’s first leg at Eintracht Frankfurt last Thursday, as their usual starter at right back, Dani Alves, is not registered for the competition. This forced them to use natural center back Ronald Araújo on the right, at the cost of some of the deep-lying dynamism from the side that Alves and Dest typically provide.
Barcelona confirmed on their website that, “The big news is the presence of both Memphis [Depay] and Sergiño Dest, who have both been absent with fitness issues for the last few weeks but will return to the team for the 9pm CEST kick-off.”
Following a somewhat unexpected 1-1 draw between the Blaugrana and the Germans in last week’s first leg in Frankfurt and the elimination of the away-goals rule in knockout ties prior to the current season, Xavi’s squad find themselves in a pressure situation where only a victory – either in the run of play or by penalties – will see them through to the final four.
