Amrabat Closing In On Betis Return Ahead Of Seville Derby
Sofyan Amrabat has cleared a key medical check after ankle surgery and is expected back at Betis training early next week, post-Seville derby.
Good news is filtering through from the Netherlands — Sofyan Amrabat’s comeback from ankle surgery is going exactly to plan, and Real Betis are quietly optimistic about getting their midfielder back in the fold sooner rather than later.
The injury story so far
It’s been a proper nightmare few months for the Moroccan. Cast your mind back to late November — a chance collision with Isco (who’s also still out, as it happens) left Amrabat with ankle trouble that just wouldn’t shift. He desperately tried to make the first-leg Seville derby at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, and then the Barcelona showpiece at La Cartuja, but neither happened.
Betis then let him link up with the Moroccan national squad early, hoping he could get himself right ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations. He did manage a couple of minutes in the group stage, but the ankle kept giving him grief, so he had to pull the plug on any further involvement. He travelled with Morocco for the whole tournament without training or playing — basically just a very expensive tourist — before all parties agreed surgery was the only sensible option.
Where things stand now
- Amrabat had the ankle arthroscopy at the end of January
- He’s been recovering in the Netherlands, where the operation took place
- A first post-op review has gone well, with no complications reported
- He’s been posting gym videos on social media showing gradual load increases on the ankle
- Betis are expecting him back in Seville early next week, after the derby
The timing is deliberate — there’s no point rushing him back mid-derby week, so the plan is to let him finish this first phase of rehab in Holland and then return to work under Pellegrini’s staff once the dust has settled on Sunday.
Why this matters for Betis
Let’s be honest, Betis need him back sharpish. The calendar is about to get properly hectic — Europa League football returns in March, and Pellegrini is going to need bodies. Amrabat, on loan from Fenerbahçe, was brought in to add some proper bite and quality in the middle of the park, and they’ve been without him for the best part of three months.
His return won’t be immediate in terms of match fitness — you don’t go through ankle surgery and waltz straight back into a starting XI — but getting him back on the training pitch and building him up over the coming weeks could be massive for the business end of the season.
The bigger picture
It’s worth noting that Isco’s situation means Betis are already light on creative midfield options, so every week Amrabat is unavailable genuinely hurts. The fact his recovery is tracking ahead of any complications is about as good as the club could have hoped for given the circumstances.
One to watch closely over the next fortnight.