Ghana star emerges as Hansi Flick solution to Barcelona injury crisis | OneFootball

Barcelona were dealt a disappointing injury blow last weekend, with Andreas Christensen having to be forced off during the victory over Sevilla. The Danish defender is poised to miss the next 4-5 weeks with a hamstring injury, meaning that Hansi Flick’s options for the centre-back position have dropped by one.

Given that Barcelona ultimately decided not to sign a new central defender in the summer, they were already going into the 2026-27 season short-handed. Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin and Christensen have been Flick’s only options used so far, and while he has Eric Garcia and Jules Kounde that can fill in, he’s looking for another solution.

That’s where Hafiz Gariba comes in. According to Sport, the Ghanian teenager has made an excellent start to the season with Barca Atletic, and given that he also trained with the first team during pre-season, he’s considered to be in pole position to earn a call-up to Flick’s squad as a replacement for the stricken Christensen.

Flick convinced by Gariba as squad option

Flick is fully aware of Gariba, whom he considers to be good enough to come into the first team and play a role under Christensen’s return. The 19-year-old would be behind Cubarsi, Martin, Eric and Kounde in the pecking order, but the fact that he could be called upon in the senior squad speaks to how highly he is rated within La Masia.

The decision on who replaces Christensen will be made when the Barcelona first team squad returns to training this week. Flick has given his non-internationals some much-needed time off following a hectic start to the campaign, but they will soon be back at the club’s training ground to begin their preparations for Getafe’s visit to the Spotify Camp Nou, during which Gariba has a chance of making his senior debut.