From a physical point of view, the start of the 2024-25 season has been rather difficult for FC Barcelona as the Catalans have missed several important players due to injuries.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was the latest player to join his teammates in the infirmary, as he suffered a torn patellar tendon of the right leg in the match against Villarreal.
Along with him, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Gavi, Marc Bernal, Fermin Lopez, Frenkie de Jong, and Dani Olmo are all currently recovering from their issues.
However, some of these players have come rather close to returning to the pitch. These include the midfield duo of Frenkie de Jong and Gavi, who both have been training with the rest of their teammates for the last few weeks.
The Barcelona coach addressed a press conference ahead of his side’s game against Osasuna, and one of the questions he was asked was about Frenkie de Jong’s return. The German tactician, as highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, did not give a clear-cut reply about his return, but still showed his satisfaction with how Frenkie was recovering:
“I liked what I saw in training, as did Gavi. They are increasing the pace in training. In Frenkie’s case, he is close. We will see next week.”
It was already expected that despite his return to partial training with the rest of his teammates, Frenkie would not be able to return to action this week.
Hopefully, he will be in better shape next week, and at last, get to play on the pitch once again. However, unless he is feeling absolutely okay, neither Barcelona nor the player himself would want to risk a relapse by getting him back on the pitch.
For the match tomorrow, Flick will have to rely once again on Pedri, Marc Casado, and Eric Garcia to take the three spots in the midfield.