Jules Koundé uses cold-water recovery and is a doubt for El Clásico

Jules Koundé, of Barcelona, missed Tuesday’s trip to Paris against PSG (4-2) after suffering a strong sprain in his left ankle. The defender—regularly used at right back and potentially as a center-back due to the absences of Eric García and Andreas Christensen—faces a race to be ready for Sunday’s El Clásico vs Real Madrid at the Spotify Camp Nou (21:00, DAZN).

To try to make it, Koundé has been working at the club’s Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper with the recovery staff, while also adding extra sessions at his own pace with a personal physiotherapist. He shared on his social media videos showing recovery work in an outdoor cold-water pool, starting around 7 p.m., with the water at about 10°C and wind—then feeling better after roughly half an hour.

As Mundo Deportivo reports, this kind of cold-water treatment is commonly used for ankle sprains to reduce the impact of gravity, making it easier to move and load the ankle progressively while helping drain remaining swelling.