One small step for Ricky Rubio, one big step for basketball. The long-awaited return to the courts for the El Masnou point guard (33) seems increasingly closer. After joining training with Barça on January 30, the new Blaugrana player signed his new contract with the entity until the end of the season yesterday and was added to the squad in both the ACB and the Euroleague after overcoming the pertinent medical examination.
Rubio is in the final phase of his recovery from the mental problems he suffers from and which forced him to leave the courts last August, when he was concentrating with the Spanish team ahead of the World Cup in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. His evolution is being very positive and hence his request to Barça to be able to join training without commitment and test himself with other elite players on the court.
From the first moment, the Palau has been delighted to have Ricky, who has raised the level of the sessions and has proven to be in commendable physical shape, as his entourage had already revealed. In recent months, the Catalan point guard had dedicated a lot of effort to physical preparation and this last week that work has been paying off. In fact, he has had no problem passing the medical tests that he underwent yesterday at the Barcelona hospital and at the Joan Gamper sports city.
Ricky Rubio has also felt very comfortable since the first day he joined the group. Also in his favor was the fact that he had many well-known faces, with whom he had met in the Spanish team. It should not be forgotten that this summer the Blaugrana squad has been reinforced with many national players. From the locker room they confirm that from the beginning he seems like one of the team.
In this entire process, the date of February 7 (today) at 6 p.m. seemed destined to mark the times. It is when the Euroleague will close its transfer market and the logical step, as long as Rubio was comfortable, seemed to release him in time to then be able to decide without pressure on his possible return to the courts.
Barça does not want to force the player, and his contractual relationship is subject to his full recovery, so it will be the player himself who sets the times with the approval of Roger Grimau. The Blaugrana coach is aware that the arrival of the El Masnou point guard to the squad allows him to make a huge leap in quality and gives him a piece that he did not have, such as a pure point guard and playmaker.
At an economic level there has been no problem in reaching an agreement to sign the contract. On the one hand, Barça had more than a million euros to reinforce itself, already supplied in the summer with a view to a possible signing. On the other hand, the monetary aspect is not among Ricky's priorities at the moment; His only requirement is to fully recover and then, and only then, enjoy basketball again.
That moment may come sooner rather than later. At the moment, the Copa del Rey looms next week and no one at the club dares to completely rule it out in Malaga.
