Barcelona identify vicious cycle explaining injury struggles in the squad – report | OneFootball

Barcelona and Hansi Flick are in a tricky situation, one that potentially sees the team’s season collapse early on.

With not even half the season past him, the manager already stares at a situation where he has never had a fully fit squad at his disposal.

What makes matters worse is that the players who have been sidelined for long are all the same names who were pillars of the team last season – Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Dani Olmo and now Pedri.

An internal meeting

As relayed by Mundo Deportivo in a recent update, Barcelona held an internal meeting to discuss what the cause of the team’s injury struggles is, and the answer was unanimous – the hectic schedule.

Indeed, the schedule is the same as what Barcelona took on last season, but the players are fatigued after the previous campaign, and even the management’s awareness of having to rotate the squad has not helped.

The excess of matches, the different workloads with the national teams, and the inability to manage workloads are the causes.

The latest injury casualty. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Flick & co., after all, are in a vicious cycle where they must rotate to avoid injuries, while at the same time having to field the same players without rotation because injuries leave them with no option.

Further, the pressure of having to win every game at a club like Barcelona does not give Flick a lot of breathing space, reducing rotations and exacerbating the situation.

In recent days, the situation for Barcelona has improved with Joan Garcia, Robert Lewandowski, and Dani Olmo moving closer to recovery.

Concurrently, however, the team have lost Pedri for a month, Raphinha suffered a fresh blow, and Lamine Yamal is not at 100% despite being fit – all but setting off any optimism recoveries bring.

Needless to say, the manager and his staff have a serious concern to address.