BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – Barcelona central defender Ronald Araujo will miss Tuesday’s La Liga game against Atlético Madrid for personal reasons, coach Hansi Flick announced.
According to Spanish media, the player’s agent met with Barcelona on Monday and reportedly told the club that Araujo needed time away to care for his mental health.
Araujo did not play in Saturday’s 3-1 win against Alaves, with the club saying he was suffering from a stomach virus.
Araujo was sent off just before half-time in last week’s 3-0 Champions League defeat to Chelsea.
“Araujo is not ready yet,” Flick said on Monday. “That’s a private situation.”
Flick declined to provide further details about Araujo’s situation and asked the media to respect that.
Barcelona leads the Spanish league. After 14 matches, they are only one point behind second-place Real Madrid. Atlético are in fourth place, three points behind the Catalan club.
“We know we’re going to play a great team with quality,” Flick said. “It’s going to be a tough battle.”
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
