Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo has revealed that he is currently carrying a knee problem.
The Uruguay international played the full 120 minutes of Wednesday's Copa del Rey quarter-final against Athletic Bilbao, which Xavi's side lost 4-2 after extra-time.
Araujo was able to complete the contest despite seemingly struggling with a knee issue, and the defender has said that he is currently playing through the pain barrier in a bid to help the team.
"Well, the truth is that it bothers me. I've had it for a couple of weeks now, but I always want to be there," Mundo Deportivo quotes the 24-year-old as saying after the clash at San Mames.
Araujo is one of three Barcelona players to suffer issues against Athletic, with Alejandro Balde taken off in the first half due to a thigh issue, while Andreas Christensen picked up a calf problem.
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"The truth is that it is sad to lose this match, we wanted to fight for this title. The game was very difficult, Athletic are a great team and at their ground even more so. Here the crowd always pushes. I'm proud of the team because we competed," the defender added.
"They scored against us in the last minute of extra-time, maybe we should have been smarter to hold on.
"It's a hard blow because we were eliminated. We have two more competitions. La Liga, where we have two home games coming up and then we also have the Champions League. We have two titles left and we will fight until the end."
Xavi's future as head coach has again been called into question following the cup defeat, and Araujo said that the manager's fate "depends on the board", but he insisted that the players at the club are still fully behind the 44-year-old.
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"Xavi's future depends on the board, we can't intervene. But trust me, we're very happy with the coach. He has helped us a lot and we want him to stay," he said.
There has been a host of speculation surrounding Araujo's future, with Bayern Munich believed to have made an attempt to sign him earlier this month.
Manchester United have also been credited with an interest in the South American, and it is thought that the two clubs could battle for his signature at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
Araujo has again been a vital player for Barcelona this season despite some injury problems, making 22 appearances in all competitions.
Despite his knee problem, the former Boston River youngster is expected to be available for his side's La Liga clash with Villarreal on Saturday evening.
Matt Law
