BARCELONA
Barcelona concern as injuries contribute to Clásico thrashing
Barça’s doctors and physios are under the microscope after the team again came unstuck in a crunch clash with key players in the sick bay.
Ousmane Dembélé did his hamstring against Girona on 28 January. He hasn’t been seen since. Pedri suffered the same injury against Manchester United on 17 February. He’s yet to return. On 19 March, in a league Clásico against Real Madrid, Frenkie de Jong also pulled up with a hamstring problem. He, too, had to sit out the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Madrid this midweek. While on Denmark duty in March, Andreas Christensen succumbed to a calf injury.
It was just too many major absences for Barça to handle. With those four key men kicking their heels in the sick bay, Xavi Hernández’s side found themselves on the receiving end of a punishing defeat to their arch rivals on Wednesday, Karim Benzema’s second-half hat-trick helping Madrid to a 4-0 victory at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona’s UCL cause also hurt by injuries
It’s not the first time that a key moment in the season has been affected by injuries. Against Inter Milan, in the Champions League group stage, Barça had to send out a makeshift defence comprising Sergi Roberto, Gerard Piqué and Eric García; it proved to be the day that the Blaugrana’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages died. On that occasion, Jules Koundé was out with a hamstring strain, Ronald Araújo had sustained a serious groin injury that required surgery, and Christensen was unavailable because of an ankle problem.
That happened in October, when Barça’s medical and fitness staff’s efforts to prevent injuries had been receiving high praise. One by one, however, players began to be ruled out - and it’s a scenario that has reoccurred months later. Among club chiefs, it’s a cause of real concern.
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Pedri’s injuries a particular worry for Barcelona
Barça have been unable to keep Pedri’s muscle injuries in check. Last season, the midfielder spent a significant amount of time on the treatment table, and this term he has been ruled out at a crucial point in the campaign. To make things worse, he suffered a relapse in his recovery last month. De Jong is also a regular victim of muscle strains and Dembélé, who hadn’t been sidelined for a while, has added to his lengthy list of injury absences since joining Barça.
When Xavi has had a full complement of players at his disposal, Barça have offered performances that have at times been genuinely excellent, such as the Spanish Super Cup final win over Madrid in January. Rather than coming down chiefly to the quality of their play, their best displays this season have been about their ability to dominate physically. When the Barça head coach has had to do without members of his squad, the Catalans have been more vulnerable. For the club, avoiding the injuries that have held the team back at important moments has become a concern of paramount importance. Rotating the side is fundamental to that cause - and when it comes to players like Pedri, that hasn’t been happening often enough.