FC Barcelona have had a very good start to the 2024-25 season, but their performances could have been even better if Flick had all his important players at his disposal.
Only in this initial phase of the season, the German tactician has been unable to count on several important players, including Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong, and Gavi, while other players have gone down after playing some minutes under him, like Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal, Dani Olmo, and Fermin Lopez.
Fermin Lopez suffered a muscle injury while with the Spanish U-21 team, but was expected to return to action in a short period of time. He did return to training some days ago, but as already reported, he injured his other leg while training on Tuesday.
As SPORT has reported, Flick was quite distraught with these developments, which he made clear as he talked to the media ahead of his side’s UEFA Champions League opener against Monaco. The German tactician even went as far as taking some responsibility for this latest setback for the young midfielder:
“In recent days, we have been gradually working with the players coming back from injury. It’s important that they rejoin slowly and with the proper workload. Gavi is also training, doing rondos like Frenkie de Jong, and we have to be careful with his recovery.”
“It’s a shame about Fermín because he played in two tournaments, and I have to say I feel a bit guilty because we could have spoken with the U-21 coach. He’s a very professional player, and the news yesterday wasn’t good.”
As Flick himself admitted, his injury could have been avoided if consultations were made with his national side. Now, the €30m-rated Barcelona midfielder will have to spend an extended period of time on the sidelines, but fortunately, other players like Frenkie de Jong and Gavi have their recovery processes going in the right direction.