Fortunately, Barca have been able to deal with those setbacks well. That's because ofthe electric form of players like Alexia Putellas, Ewa Pajor and Claudia Pina, while there are also a number of young players who have stepped up while key names have been sidelined. Those include La Masia graduates such as Clara Serrajordi and Aicha Camara, as well as the likes of Sydney Schertenleib and Vicky Lopez, who joined Barca from other clubs as teenagers.
"Losing Aitana was really a shock to us," Esmee Brugts, the 22-year-old full-back who is into her third season at the club after signing from PSV Eindhoven as a talented young prospect herself, said this week. "I was really sad to hear about this news, knowing that she's such an important player for us. She always steps up in those big games. Knowing her, she always wants to play every game, so to know that she would be out for a long time was a really sad moment.
"It also maybe is explainable that it happened because we have maybe more games and fewer players, which is a lot of load to the players. I've been injured also and there have been more examples like that. But also, whenever we are with fewer players, maybe we have more chances for the younger girls to step up and I think they did really great.
"In the end, we are always stronger whenever, when everybody is available. So I'm happy that Aitana is back in training now and those big games coming up with everybody fit is what we want."