Injury Update: Alexia Putellas Set To Return For Season-Defining Match
Alexia Putellas is just days away from her long-awaited return to the football pitch.
The Barcelona and Spain star has been on the sidelines since July, having ruptured her ACL in a training session on the eve of Euro 2022.
She rejoined team training last month and was captured looking delighted alongside her teammates in a series of photos and videos. After weeks of continued hard work, a date for Putellas’s return to the pitch has now reportedly been set.
When will Alexia Putellas return from injury?
According to Relevo, Putellas will make her return for Barcelona on April 27, during the second leg of the side’s Champions League semi-final match against Chelsea.
It is reportedly not out of the question that the two-time Ballon d’Or winner could be named in the squad for the first leg on Saturday, April 22.
But returning for the second leg would allow Putellas to make her comeback at Camp Nou, in front of at least 50,000 Barcelona fans.
The 29-year-old dropped her own hint on Twitter that she would be returning for the second leg against Chelsea, posting an old photo of herself in her Barcelona shirt emblazoned with the number 11.
Putellas posted the image 11 days before the semi-final encounter against Chelsea, and while it may have been a coincidence, it only fuelled speculation about her comeback.
Barcelona vs Chelsea
Barcelona and Chelsea last met in the Women’s Champions League for the 2021 final. The Blues were thrashed 4-0 as European glory evaded manager Emma Hayes once again.
Hayes will be desperate to enact revenge on Barcelona. But her side, who will be missing key defender Millie Bright, will be seriously tested against one of the most dominant teams in the world.
They are well on track for a fourth successive Liga F title and are unbeaten in the league this season, scoring an astonishing 105 goals and conceding just five in 25 matches.
Star players include Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh, Aitana Bonmatí and Asisat Oshoala, with the addition of Putellas making Barcelona an even more intimidating prospect.
The side are targeting their second Champions League title this season after triumphing in 2021. If they beat Chelsea, either Arsenal or Wolfsburg will await in the final on June 3.
