Barcelona players are away on international duty with their respective nations and the only worry in the heads of all the fans out there is that their stars return unscathed. After all, international breaks have never been kind to the club in recent years.
Even in the recently concluded Copa America and European Championship, Barcelona lost both Ronald Araujo and Pedri to injuries. The latter is back in action but the former is set to be out until almost the end of the year.
Need we even remind you that Gavi tore his ACL by playing in a meaningless friendly against Georgia? Last night, both Spain and Poland were in action against Serbia and Scotland respectively and Robert Lewandowski had a great game.
The 36-year-old superstar scored and assisted once in his nation’s 3-2 victory and even equaled the international tally of the legendary Ferenc Puskas. Interestingly, however, he asked to be substituted in the 72nd minute.
Lewandowski is not the kind of player to ask to be taken off. As per Mundo Deportivo, the Polish veteran has revealed that he wanted to be substituted as he felt a bit of discomfort. Here is what he had to say:
“I felt discomfort and then there was some pain. I realised that if I took a risk today, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow it could be much worse. For the good of the team and for my health, the decision was made to leave the field. The season will be very demanding. I could have up to 70 games ahead of me, so I need to manage my strength and energy wisely”
You cannot be around for as long as Lewandowski has and be successful without understanding your body. The 36-year-old perfectly understands when it’s time for a break, especially considering that he isn’t getting younger.
Playing on with discomfort could have aggravated the issue and been catastrophic for Barcelona. It now remains to be seen if Lewandowski is afforded a rest for the next game and let him recover in time for the club games post the break.
The Polish superstar has started the season very well under Hansi Flick and is one of the team’s most important players. Let’s hope this is nothing more than a discomfort and that he can recover as soon as possible.
