Pedri recovers well, expect to return in the match against Bilbao

According to reports from AS, Pedri's return remains subject to multiple possibilities, with the prospect of featuring for a few minutes against Athletic Bilbao after the international break not being ruled out. This would mark a return over two weeks earlier than initially anticipated.

Reports indicate Pedri's return could come significantly earlier than the initial timeline set by the club's medical team. His recovery has progressed so smoothly that he may even feature in the first match following the international break (against Athletic Bilbao). Should he return as scheduled on 22 November, it would mark a return over two weeks ahead of the initial projections (which had optimistically targeted early December).

Despite his positive physical recovery, the club remains cautious and reluctant to express premature optimism – particularly given the precedent of Raphinha's injury recurrence just before the Clásico.

While the club's medical update did not specify an exact layoff period, sources indicate his absence will last approximately six weeks, causing him to miss around eight matches. One of these (against Elche) he would have missed anyway due to suspension.

Regardless, initial projections had placed Pedri's return in the first week of December, meaning he would miss both the November away fixture against Chelsea and the early La Liga clash with Atlético Madrid on 3rd December.

However, this publication has confirmed that Pedri's recovery is progressing exceptionally well. His participation against Atlético Madrid is now virtually assured, and he may even travel to London (for the Chelsea fixture).

Undoubtedly, the coming days will be pivotal in finalising his return strategy. Currently, he is completing all training duties without complaint, with no setbacks in his recovery. Should this progress continue, he may gradually rejoin full-team training early next week, though this will be done progressively without any forced acceleration.

Pedri's early return is undoubtedly one of the best pieces of news Flick could receive at this crucial stage of the season. Furthermore, Flick anticipates both Joan García and Raphinha will be fully fit to rejoin the squad for the next phase of fixtures. Should this materialise, and provided Barcelona successfully avoid the FIFA virus this time, the German manager's injury list would be reduced to just Gavi and Ter Stegen.