The fitness of the squad was one of the pillars behind Barcelona’s special run across all competitions last season, but the same has not been true so far in Hansi Flick’s second season.
Injuries, in fact, have been one of the big struggles of the team’s campaign so far with Hansi Flick barely ever having a fully fit squad at his disposal.
In fact, Mundo Deportivo brings to light that the fitness situation greatly concerns the manager and leaves him puzzled, especially in terms of the uncertain recoveries. In fact, that has limited the team’s ceiling this season.
Multiple players unavailable
Robert Lewandowski, Dani Olmo, Alejandro Balde, Frenkie de Jong, Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Ferran Torres have all sustained setbacks in the short time that has elapsed this season.
The list, however, does not end there with Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gavi and Joan Garcia also suffering injuries, leaving them away from the training field, and Andreas Christensen happens to now be the latest member on that list.
Lewandowski has been out for 15 days so far since being injured on international duty and is expected to return to the dynamics soon. He already missed 15 days at the beginning of the season, making this his second injury.
Raphinha, FC Barcelona player
Raphinha’s absence has been a major blow. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
The situation with Raphinha is not as positive as he was expected to be sidelined for three weeks and has already been out for 33 days now, with a return likely to happen next month.
The third star attacker, Lamine, has already missed close to a month through injury, and while he is back on the field, he is still not at 100%. Ferran also suffered a setback, for which he spent eight days on the sidelines.
In midfield, Fermin was out for 25 days through a niggle, while Olmo has faced 20 days out and counting so far this campaign. De Jong, meanwhile, was sidelined for nine days after his setback in his obturator muscle.
In defence, Balde was out for close to a month for a muscle injury, while Christensen has no tentative date of return. Garcia, the star new signing, also has been out for 33 days and is not back in group training.
Adding to that list the long-term injuries to Ter Stegen and Gavi, who have been out for 97 and 59 days, respectively, showing how deep a crisis Barcelona are in, and the manager must look to solve the root cause of the issue.