In rather unexpected news, the reason why Manchester City loanee João Cancelo missed Barcelona’s game against Atlético Madrid might be more serious than first thought.
The news comes from RAC1 in Spain, who took to X, formerly Twitter, to reveal that the defender was pulled out of the squad ‘as a precaution’ because of recent ‘medical advice’.
It’s revealed that a relative of the Manchester City man ‘has a heart problem’, and it was decided by Barcelona’s medical services that tests needed to be done before putting him back on a football field.
The Catalan side ‘want to rule out’ the possibility that the condition is ‘hereditary’, on the off chance that it could also affect Cancelo.
The 29-year-old is at Barcelona until the end of the season after falling out with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, and while their aim was to keep him around beyond the campaign, the LaLiga club cannot afford a permanent transfer.
However, the Premier League side have made it clear they want a full sale to get him off the books for good, meaning a new option would have to be found at the Camp Nou.
On a purely personal level, everyone will be hoping that Cancelo is given the all clear level, and both clubs will be waiting for those results to come as quickly as possible in order to hopefully give him the all clear.
‼️NOTÍCIA @EsportsRAC1
Joao Cancelo es va perdre el partit contra l'Atlètic de Madrid per recomanació mèdica, de forma preventiva. Un familiar del jugador té un problema al cor i els serveis mèdics del club volen descartar que sigui hereditari. #frac1 pic.twitter.com/fWrlTRa74F
— El Barça juga a RAC1 (@FCBRAC1) March 20, 2024
