Injury update: Barcelona key defender aiming to make full recovery after break

Barcelona will resume their season after the mid-season break in a week when they lock horns with Las Palmas away at Gran Canaria.

The Blaugrana will be facing off against the newly-promoted club, hoping to pick up a win and stay in touch with joint-leaders Real Madrid and Girona.

Ronald Araujo aiming for full recovery

And, leading up to the game, Barcelona defensive mainstay Ronald Araujo is aiming to make a full recovery from his facial injury, reports SPORT.

The 24-year-old centre-half, one of the club captains, suffered a cheekbone fracture during the La Liga clash against Atletico Madrid earlier this month.

While the injury is not major enough to rule him out of action completely, Araujo has been forced to play with a protective face mask in the last few games against Girona, Valencia, and Almeria.

Furthermore, manager Xavi Hernandez even opted to leave the Uruguayan behind for the mid-season friendly vs Club America in the USA earlier this month, in order to give him more time to recuperate.

Now, SPORT is reporting that Araujo is likely to return in optimal conditions after the Christmas break.

Having been away on holiday in Argentina, the defender has returned with very good feelings about not having to play again with the protective face mask.

Araujo will undergo a final test on Friday when the squad reconvenes for training, and there is hope that he will receive clearance to play against Las Palmas without the mask.

A permanent fixture in the side, Araujo has been captaining the side in recent matches considering that Sergi Roberto is not a regular starter and Marc-Andre ter Stegen is out with a back injury.