Barcelona have confirmed that their next friendly match as part of their pre-season tour in the USA is set to go ahead as planned after their tie with Juventus was cancelled.
A number of players in the Barcelona squad are currently suffering from a viral gastroenteritis infection, and this meant that Xavi would not have been able to field a side to face the Italian giants in Santa Clara.
“Life sometimes gives us these surprises, that changes our plans,” President Joan Laporta stated.
“We wanted to see the champions, our team, and the new players, but this will not be possible.
“Unfortunately it’s most of our players, we hope that they will recover as fast as possible, it’s very tough for them, it’s very tough for the team, and at the same time it’s very tough for the supporters as we were wishing to see our team play against Juventus in San Francisco.”
On a more positive note, Barcelona have confirmed that their next friendly, set to take place on Wednesday against Arsenal in Los Angeles, is set to go ahead as things stand.
“Both teams are in close contact and we both have the utmost confidence that our game will go on as planned,” they stated.
What are Barcelona’s pre-season plans?
The Blaugrana originally had four games planned as part of their USA tour, against Juventus, Arsenal, Real Madrid and AC Milan, but with no time available to rearrange the Juventus fixture, that match has now been abandoned.
This is far from ideal for Xavi and his side, who will hope that the players stricken by the virus will recover quickly as they aim to step up their pre-season preparation.
Once Barcelona return from the USA, they will face Tottenham Hotspur in the Joan Gamper trophy, before a trip to Getafe to kick off their La Liga campaign as defending champions.