Why Ronald Araújo is on the bench again for Barcelona vs Rayo | OneFootball

An explanation for the absence of Ronald Araújo from Barcelona’s latest starting line-up as on Sunday been forthcoming.

Barca, of course, are set to return to action in short order.

In the club’s penultimate outing of the campaign, they are primed to play host to Rayo Vallecano, in a La Liga clash.

A short time ago, the XI of stars set to be tasked with getting the better of Rayo by boss Xavi was, in turn, unveiled across social media.

Barca’s headmaster has opted for a strong line-up, featuring the likes of Jules Koundé, İlkay Gündoğan, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski:

And yet, as alluded to above, forced to make do with a spot on the bench once more at Montjuïc is key defender Ronald Araújo.

After sitting out both of Barcelona’s last two outings owing to a knee issue, the expectation was that the Uruguayan was in line for a return to starting duties on Sunday evening.

As confirmed by Javier Miguel of Diario AS, however, his knee is continuing to cause Araújo problems, with his place in the matchday squad largely down to the fact that the 25-year-old did not want to miss his side’s final home fixture of the campaign.

Conor Laird | GSFN