Barcelona manager Hansi Flick is frustrated with his team’s injury problems after Jules Koundé and Alejandro Baldé became the latest to be sidelined
As FC Barcelona’s injury woes continue, head coach Hansi Flick has expressed his frustration with the club’s medical team. The German feels that his squad are suffering an unnatural number of injuries after two more fell victim to the curse on Tuesday night.
As the Blaugrana looked to stage an epic second-leg comeback against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final, two Barcelona players had to be taken off injured. First Jules Koundé and then his replacement Alejandro Baldé.
Hamstring injuries point to Barcelona conditioning concerns
Both Koundé and Baldé left the field of play on Tuesday night with hamstring complaints that will see them miss the trip to San Mamés on Saturday and beyond.
When these types of injury become common amongst a group of players, it naturally raises concerns about their conditioning or training and Flick is determined to get to the bottom of it.
“We have to talk about it because it’s not normal,” Flick told reporters at his post-match press conference.
“We have two more injuries and I’m not happy. It’s not good.
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“We’ll have to talk about it with the medical team and the fitness coaches to avoid getting three players injured in a week.”
Mounting injury list for Flick and Barcelona
Baldé and Koundé join a growing list of absentees and doubts for Flick and Barcelona. Gavi, Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong all missed the game against Atleti and only Lewandowski is expected to return for the trip to Bilbao to take on Athletic Club.
Meanwhile, longer-term absentee Andreas Christensen and youngsters Jofre Torrents and Toni Fernández are also expected to miss the game in the Basque Country.
That’s before even taking into account the gruelling nature of Tuesday’s game at the Camp Nou which saw the likes of Marc Bernal, Pedri, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal end the game looking exhausted.
Another tough game just a few days later could increase their chances of breaking down and adding to Barcelona’s overcrowded treatment room.
With the Champions League knockouts less than a week away, Flick could really do without these problems at this stage in the season. Barcelona play in Newcastle on Tuesday and don’t have a midweek off before the international break at the end of the month.
That means five important games in an 18-day stretch for the Catalan side who lead the way in LaLiga and will be hoping to go deep in the Champions League.
