Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo returned to training on Wednesday this week, after taking a leave of absence. The Uruguayan defender has a target in mind to return to the pitch.
After a sending off against Chelsea earlier this month, and heavy subsequent criticism, Araujo missed their weekend clash against Alaves. The 26-year-old then requested a leave of absence to reset his mental health, and was granted an indefinite period off by the club.
Ronald Araujo’s return to Barcelona action
After returning to training on Wednesday, Mark both say that Araujo has set a date to target his return to the matchday squad. That will be the Catalan derby on the 3rd of January, when Barcelona travel to face neighbours Espanyol in their first game after the winter break.
The Blaugrana will play their final game of 2025 against Villarreal on Sunday, meaning he will have four training sessions under his belt before the Barcelona squad break for a week. Hansi Flick’s side will then be back in training on the 29th of December to prepare for that match five days later, although Araujo may decide to continue training individually as he gets back into shape.
Araujo’s time off
During his time off, Araujo made a religious pilgrimage to Israel where he visited Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, but has now set a training programme with the club to get him back to his best. During the Christmas break, Araujo intends to travel to Uruguay to spend the holidays with his family, but is focused on a return to action as soon as possible, feeling he is now ready to play again.
Andreas Christensen wants nothing else than to stay at Barcelona beyond this season, and is making merits to try to convince Flick and Deco that he deserves to. Yesterday he was impeccable. @RogerTorello
— Barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 17, 2025
Flick may decide to ease Araujo back in, but the Espanyol fixture promises to be a difficult one not only due to the heated derby atmosphere, but also the fact Los Pericos are one of the form sides in Spain. Following that, Barcelona travel to Saudi Arabia to face Athletic Club in the Spanish Supercup semi-final, and potentially one of Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid in the final. They return to a Copa del Rey tie which will be away from home the following week.
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