Roony Bardghji's ACL Injury: A Major Setback for Barcelona Winger
Barcelona winger Roony Bardghji has suffered a brutal setback, tearing the ACL in his right knee just as he stood on the brink of a move away from the club.
The Spanish champions confirmed on Tuesday that the 20-year-old Sweden international sustained the injury in training on Monday and will need surgery in the coming days. His season is effectively over before it has even begun, and any hope of a transfer before the window shuts on September 1 has vanished.
A move lined up – then everything collapsed
Bardghji had been working towards an exit from Barcelona this summer after talks with the club hierarchy. He knew where he stood. According to ESPN, coach Hansi Flick told him frankly that first-team minutes would be extremely hard to find in the upcoming campaign.
With Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi arriving to strengthen the forward line, the message was clear: opportunities would shrink, not grow.
Barcelona had already received enquiries from across Europe, including interest from the Premier League, and negotiations were expected to pick up pace as the deadline approached. The club even tried to shield him from exactly this kind of nightmare.
He was deliberately left out of Saturday’s friendlies against Nottingham Forest and Udinese to avoid any injury that might jeopardise a transfer. The irony is cruel. The damage came not in a match, but on the training pitch.
Second major blow to the same knee
This is not Bardghji’s first fight with this injury. It is his second torn ACL in the same right knee, after suffering the exact problem while playing for Copenhagen in 2024.
Barcelona signed him last summer from the Danish club for around €2 million. His debut season in Spain brought 28 appearances in all competitions and two goals, most of those minutes coming from the bench as he tried to carve out a role in a crowded attack.
He was preparing to restart his career elsewhere, to find a team where he could finally play regularly. Instead, he faces months of rehabilitation.
Season written off before it starts
With the transfer window closing on September 1, the timing of the injury leaves no room for manoeuvre. Bardghji will not be leaving Barcelona this summer. Surgery now awaits, followed by a long recovery programme at the club’s facilities.
The plan for the coming year has flipped on its head. No fresh start in a new league. No battle for a place at a different club. Just the lonely grind of a second major knee comeback, and the question that will now hang over his young career: how many times can he fight his way back?
