It took almost a full year but Gavi is officially back in the fold as the Barcelona midfielder and fan favorite has now made four substitute appearances in a row since making his return from a serious knee injury, although all of them have come in very limited action at the very end of games so far.

That was always going to be the case, however, and there is simply no reason to even think about rushing Gavi back when the team is playing so well and there is enough depth in midfield to give him enough time to properly and slowly but surely get back to full fitness.

And his coach agrees with that strategy. Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday Hansi Flick was asked about the plan for increasing Gavi's minutes, and the German boss made it very clear there is no rush to do so and Gavi will only play in the right context in these early days.

"I don't know when he will be able to play more. We will go step by step. I have spoken about it with him, and we both think the same. It also depends on the context of the game. The derby is an example, we will go little by little. But the recovery is going well."

It's so refreshing to see that approach when Barça players in the past always seemed to come back way too soon and had too much strain put on their bodies before they were ready for any of it, which caused more and more problems and one injury crisis after another.

So if you're waiting to see Gavi play a good half-hour or even make his first start, you'll have to wait quite a while.