Hansi Flick’s post-recovery plan for Barcelona gem continues to pay off | OneFootball

Over the course of the last few months at FC Barcelona, a lot of precaution has been taken in regards to injured players. Having learned their lesson from previous seasons, the Catalan giants have not been willing to take the same kind of risks again. Fortunately for Barcelona, this precautionary approach was helped even further by Hansi Flick’s arrival.

For the German coach, physical training and preparation is one of the fundamental basics that is required to play football at the highest level. So far during his time as Barcelona’s head coach, he has embodied this philosophy quite well and it is reflected in the performances and displays from his players as well.

At the same time, however, that attention to detail has been applied towards injured players as well. The likes of Ronald Araujo, Dani Olmo, Frenkie de Jong, Fermin Lopez, and others have worked on their recoveries according to the specific plans established for them by the new coaching staff and it has worked wonders.

Moreover, in the case of Gavi, even his post-recovery plans are proving to be fruitful as Hansi Flick continues to establish the limits and opportunities that the Barcelona youngster gets to enjoy in the initial days following his return from his ACL and meniscus injury, as highlighted by MARCA.

Knowing Gavi’s tenacious nature and his hunger to play, Flick has made sure that the player remains patient and continues to progress at a controlled rate due to the sensitive nature of his particular injury. Against the likes of Sevilla, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, RCD Espanyol, and most recently Red Star Belgrade, the Barcelona coach has managed his minutes expertly well.

His first taste of an official match following his return came against Sevilla at the Montjuic Stadium, where the young midfielder played seven minutes. Next came his chance against Bayern Munich at Barça’s temporary home again, but this time he played for just five minutes.

Right after that game, he got to play 3 minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu as well against Real Madrid. Then, against Espanyol, he got to play five minutes yet again.

However, his most prominent involvement yet came against Red Star Belgrade in the recent UEFA Champions League clash in which Barcelona thrashed their Serbian opponents with a 5-2 scoreline. In this particular game, Gavi got to play for 22 minutes, and that is expected to only increase from here onwards.

In the upcoming game against Real Sociedad, for instance, MARCA reports that the player could get to play even more minutes if things go in Barça’s favor during the match itself. However, the young Spaniard’s full return is expected after the upcoming international break, and only then will the possibility of him getting to start be discussed.

After all, the 20-year-old La Masia gem ended up returning a month before the club initially expected him to mark his comeback. Since then, he has continued to prove his worth and quality to Hansi Flick, and the biggest challenge for the German coach will now be to find him a place in a starting eleven that already has quite a lot of midfielders performing at a high level.