This morning, July 7, Brazil and Uruguay met in the quarterfinals of Copa America 2024. The two teams were inconclusive after 90 minutes and had to decide the winner on penalties. And Uruguay was the more decisive team when they overcame their opponent with a score of 4-2 on the penalty spot.

However, Uruguay also had to pay a high price for this victory when their number 1 midfielder, Ronald Araujo, suffered a serious injury and will likely have to miss the rest of the Copa America. In the 33rd minute, Arujo had a hamstring problem in an attempt to prevent the opponent from crossing the ball.

Uruguay had to replace Arujo with Jose Gimenez immediately afterward. On the way off the field, the 25-year-old midfielder burst into tears, a move that showed he most likely had a minor injury.

Sharing with MD after the match, Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa admitted that Araujo may have had a pretty serious injury. According to him, this is a problem because Arujo had to play too much last season.

“I think Araujo has a muscle problem. We will know more details after the test tomorrow,” Bielsa said. “This is a problem because of overload. The players have to play at a density of 40-50 matches in a season in Europe. Then they come to play in the Copa America with a frequency of 2 matches/week. Their bodies Unbearable,” Bielsa added.

According to initial predictions, Araujo is likely to take a long break and miss the rest of the Copa America. Even the 25-year-old player could not play for the Nou Camp team at the beginning of the new 2024/25 season.

This is bad news for Barcelona, ​​because just a few days ago Pedri was also injured after a collision with Toni Kroos in the quarterfinals of Euro 2024. The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed that Pedri had a sprained ligament. On the left knee, he is expected to be sidelined for 2-3 weeks.

Although it will be more than a month before coach Hansi Flick makes his debut at Barcelona, ​​injuries to two pillars in both defense and midfield are bad news for the Catalan team. Barcelona will begin its pre-season tour at the end of July and have its first official match against Valencia on August 18. While Pedri may recover before the new season, it is likely that Araujo will not be. This midfielder’s injury even directly affected the Catalan giant’s transfer plan.

Araujo and Barcelona’s contract only lasts until 2026, and the two have not yet reached an agreement on an extension. If Araujo does not renew his contract, Barcelona wants to sell the Uruguayan midfielder this summer while the price is still good.

However, if Araujo gets seriously injured, no team will want to buy him in the summer. Without selling Araujo, Barcelona cannot buy more midfielders because of the club’s difficult financial problems. His value will also decrease over time, because the contract term is no longer long.

Therefore, Araujo’s injury is really bad news for Barcelona and coach Hansi Flick.