This 2024-25 season has not been kind to FC Barcelona in terms of injuries and physical problems. The Catalans have been without several of their key players at the start of this season, but luckily Hansi Flick has still been able to get the best out of the team.
But things are gradually improving in this regard as well, as the Blaugranes have already recovered several players in recent days, while several more players are expected to return to action in the coming few days.
Eric Garcia was the last to return from the infirmary, and after his return, SPORT has provided an update on how the Barcelona infirmary looks now.
Torres and Yamal are next to return
Hansi Flick is expected to receive two more attacking reinforcements in the upcoming match against Las Palmas. One of these players will be Lamine Yamal, who has been sorely missed by the team in the last few weeks. The Spaniard already trained with the team on Wednesday, and is expected to do so again today.
He no longer feels the pain in his ankle that kept him out of action for the last three games, and already in the last phase of his recovery, he is expected to return to action this Saturday.
Similarly, Ferran Torres has also trained with the team several times already, and he is expected to get the medical discharge for the game against Las Palmas. With his return, Flick will also have an experienced player for the center-forward position, which would allow him to rest Lewandowski more often.
Fati returns to fieldwork
Ansu Fati, who suffered a muscle injury on 13th November, has also already started doing some fieldwork, but he would still need some time to fully recover and can return to action in mid-December for the match against Leganes.
Thus, he will miss the upcoming games against Las Palmas, Mallorca, Real Betis, and Borussia Dortmund.
More reinforcements in defense for Barcelona
Things are also improving in regards to defense, as Alejandro Balde was able to play for some minutes in the game against Brest.
Similarly, Ronald Araujo has also been training with the rest of his teammates since Sunday and is already in the last phase of his recovery. Flick can put him in the squad for the match against Mallorca or Real Betis in the first week of December.
Lastly, Andreas Christensen is still recovering after having undergone surgery recently for his tendinopathy problems. He is expected to return to action in January.
With the return of these players, it will be interesting to see which center-back pairing Flick prefers going forward, keeping in view the excellent performances of Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi.