Barcelona pulled off a gritty comeback in Prague on Wednesday night, turning a 2-2 deadlock into a 4-2 Champions League victory against Slavia Prague. Pedri, the 23-year-old Spaniard who anchors the midfield, had been pulling strings all game until the 61st minute.
He suddenly clutched his right hamstring, dropped to the turf, and hobbled off, replaced by Dani Olmo. Coach Hansi Flick called it right away after the whistle: “It’s not good news. Hamstring issues, and he needs tests.”
Thursday morning brought the harsh reality. Club medical staff ran scans back at the training ground, confirming a muscle tear in the biceps femoris of his right leg.
The recovery timeline sits at about one month, putting Pedri out until late February. This lines up with initial whispers from the bench, where staff pegged it at three to four weeks, but full exams sealed the longer spell. For fans glued to the drama, it felt like deja vu, another promising night soured by a familiar foe.
The timing stings extra hard. Barcelona sits atop La Liga and chases Champions League glory, but now they scramble without their engine room general. Pedri had started 24 of the team’s 29 wins this season, chipping in four goals and proving indispensable in build-up play.
Matches in Jeopardy, Midfield Mayhem
Pedri’s absence carves a hole through Barcelona’s packed January slate. First up, Sunday’s La Liga home clash with Real Oviedo at Spotify Camp Nou, no chance he suits up. Next Wednesday’s pivotal Champions League finale against Copenhagen decides if Barca skips playoffs and lands straight in the last 16.
The bleed continues with La Liga trips to Elche and Girona, plus home games versus Mallorca and Levante. Slot in a Copa del Rey quarterfinal against second-tier Albacete on February 3, and that’s seven matches potentially wiped out.
Pedri (Credit: BBC)
A direct Villarreal showdown on March 1 offers his earliest return shot, assuming rehab clicks perfectly. Complicating matters, Frenkie de Jong sits suspended for Copenhagen after yellow-card accumulation, thinning the midfield further.
Options exist, though. Eric Garcia could shift central, Fermin Lopez brings energy off the bench, and youngsters like Marc Casado or Marc Bernal eye minutes alongside Dani Olmo. Still, replacing Pedri’s vision and tempo proves tough; his 25 appearances this term yielded two goals and eight assists across competitions.
Fans on social media buzz with worry, memes flying about Barca’s “injury black hole,” but Flick’s squad depth, built last summer, faces its sternest test yet.
Curse of the Canary Kid’s Body
No one forgets Pedri’s breakout at 17, dazzling at Euro 2020 before burnout hit. Since 2021, hamstring and muscle gremlins have dogged him relentlessly over 70 games missed across seasons, with 2021-22 alone costing 200-plus days.
This term alone, a prior hamstring sidelined him for five matches in October, plus a December calf tweak.
Barcelona’s staff preaches load management now, but critics question if high-demanding demands under the German coach play a role. Pedri himself pushes limits, that relentless drive fueling genius but fraying his frame.
Spain’s national team feels the ripple, too. He’s a lock for Luis de la Fuente’s setups. As Barca guns for a treble repeat after last season’s La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa haul, Pedri’s fightback becomes plotline gold.
Watch rehab closely; one smooth month could silence doubters for good. The kid from Tenerife keeps rising, scars and all.
Fetty Wap burst onto charts in 2015 with Trap Queen, that melodic hook dominating summer airwaves and racking up billions of streams. Right away, fans zeroed in on his left eye socket, empty and unhidden, setting him apart in a sea of polished rappers.
Born Willie Maxwell II on June 7, 1991, in Paterson, New Jersey, trouble hit fast. At six months, doctors diagnosed congenital glaucoma in both eyes, with fluid buildup crushing the optic nerves.
A minor accident as a newborn worsened it, pushing pressure sky-high and sparking pain only surgery could fix. They removed the left eye to halt damage spreading rightward. His mom hustled from Jersey to a specialist in Philly, the lone spot equipped for infant cases back then.
That doc, now pushing 80, not only preserved but boosted vision in the good eye to better than 20/20 sharpness. Without that call, full blindness loomed. Fetty later called it his blessing, turning a curse into a signature.
Early years blurred with hospital runs, but music called louder. By the time teens are done, reconstructive work done at age 12 included a prosthetic. School kids mocked him nonstop, sparking fights and tough skin.
Ditching the Fake, Embracing the Fire
Around high school age, Fetty quit the prosthetic cold. It felt fake, clashing with his raw vibe. “I didn’t want to look like everybody else,” he put it plain. That choice amplified his persona, grills gleaming on one side, socket bold on the other. Trap Queen dropped, and the look stuck, fueling viral curiosity.
Rumors exploded online. Some swore a shooting did it; others pinned it on a vape explosion or fireworks failure. Fetty shut them down in spots like Shade 45 and TMZ chats, sticking to facts: childhood disease, not street beef. Bullies faded as fans celebrated the realness.
Fetty Wap (Credit: CNN)
His flow, that auto-tuned croon over trap beats, paired perfectly with the unfiltered image. Hits like 679 and My Way followed, platinum plaques piling up. Embracing it head-on made him a pioneer, one of the few rappers rocking imperfection upfront.
Paterson pride ran deep, too. Local murals honor him; kids see a kid from the block who flipped hardship into hits. That authenticity hooked loyalists through highs like festival headliners and lows like label drama.
Fresh Out, Eye on Comeback Road
Fast-forward to October 2021: Fetty pleads guilty in a massive drug ring bust, moving kilos of coke, heroin, and fentanyl across New York and Jersey.
A six-year sentence hit, but good behavior shaved it down. In early January 2026, the federal prison released him to home confinement till November, letting family time and music whispers restart.
Fans flooded socials with Trap Queen throwbacks, speculating about new drops. His eye story resurfaced amid release buzz, a reminder of resilience beyond bars.
Congenital glaucoma awareness is rare in infants, with a rate of 1 in 10,000, often genetic. Groups like the Glaucoma Research Foundation highlight that early checks save sight. Fetty’s tale pushes that: spot signs young, and fight back hard.
Now 34, he’s plotting. Instagram teases studio glimpses and collabs brewing. The socket? Still Socket, still iconic. From the Philly OR table to prison gates and back, Fetty owns every scar. Paterson waits for the next anthem, one sharp eye locked on the prize. The beat drops soon; bet on it.
