One of the surprise decisions that Xavi made last night during Barcelona’s game against Granada was to leave star defender Ronald Araujo out.

The Uruguayan did not even come out to warm up at any moment during the game even though Barça were struggling defensively. In the end, the third club captain did not make an appearance as the game ended in a 3-3 stalemate.

Explaining his absence, Xavi said after the game: “He’s fine, he’s not bothered. But we’ve given him rest.”

Araujo did not train today

After not featuring on Sunday night against Granada, Araujo did not participate in the training sessions on Monday with the rest of the Barcelona squad, reports Mundo Deportivo.

It must be noted that today’s session was a minor one, focused on recovery and recuperation after last night’s match.

Despite it being so, Araujo was not part of the sessions during the morning. However, that does not mean that the centre-half is nursing an injury.

Instead, the Uruguayan defender is only carrying muscle fatigue and minor discomfort caused by the sum of minutes in January and February with a match every three days.

As such, the Barcelona staff decided that a rest of 14 days with no games would do Araujo well, and the idea is that the captain returns to the starting XI later this week against Celta Vigo.

Roberto, Romeu could also return

Two more players who were not involved in training today were veteran stars Oriol Romeu and Sergi Roberto.

Romeu is also recovering from some discomfort while Roberto has been out for a couple of weeks due to an Achilles tendon issue.

However, both players are expected to return to action against Celta Vigo next Saturday.