It remains true that Hansi Flick’s current Barcelona team is still not at its full strength. With many players still sidelined, the German coach has had to work with the limited quality at his disposal. Despite this obvious challenge, his tactics have managed to turn this Barcelona team into quite the dangerous unit.
However, it would hardly be a bad thing for the German tactician to gradually recover all of his players. The more depth in the squad, the more options that Hansi Flick will have to make necessary adjustments and tactical changes as per his own requirements.
Fortunately for the new Barcelona coach, it is expected that he will recover many of those sidelined players quite soon. This would include the likes of Gavi, Fermin Lopez, and Dani Olmo, all of whom can provide the current manager with a lot of tactical solutions.
Even Ronald Araujo’s recovery is going well and his return is expected to take place before the year ends. However, there has been a lot more doubt and uncertainty over the recovery of another defender who is also currently sidelined due to a problem with his Achilles tendon.
That player is Andreas Christensen, the 28-year-old Danish defender who continues to remain unavailable despite having started this season off under Flick’s command. However, due to the medical advice he was given by the club’s doctors, he has decided to fully recover from his consistent discomfort first before returning.
Now, as per the information provided by SPORT, there is a lot of positive progress in terms of his recovery. In fact, he could soon rejoin group training as well if things go smoothly and that would consequently mean that his return to the field would also not be too far away once that happens.
However, there are some consequences of Christensen returning that would also need to be addressed. Initially, Barcelona were able to temporarily register summer signing Dani Olmo due to Christensen’s injury and the time that he would be missing for the club.
Due to La Liga’s special rules, 80% of the Dane’s salary could be applied to register another player and that individual ended up being Olmo. Once Christensen returns, however, Barcelona would have to handle the registration of Dani Olmo once again in January to sort things out.
On the positive side of things, Christensen’s return itself could give Flick a player who can operate in various different roles quite effectively. Whether as a defensive midfielder or as a central defender, the €30 million-rated player could be just the kind of back-up option this team would need to sort out their rotational issues from time to time.