FC Barcelona have already faced a severe injury crisis this season despite not even being halfway through the campaign. Moreover, these injuries managed to mainly impact the key stars of Xavi’s system.
Even the recent loss to Real Madrid in the Clasico may have been avoided had Barcelona not had to deal with so many missing players.
However, it is perhaps bizarre that among those injured stars is one that many expect to be sidelined from time to time. This expectation is worrying, as it showcases a clear lack of fitness and faith in his health. The player in question is none other than young Pedri.
International criticism
In a recent interview, as highlighted by SPORT, a Spanish teammate of Pedri’s highlighted the possible reasoning behind this. Pau Torres, defender for Aston Villa, is among Pedri’s many allies in the Spanish National team.
During his interview, he suggested that it was perhaps Barcelona who are to blame for Pedri’s injury problems:
“If Barcelona had decided to give him adequate rest, I believe that Pedri would be in better physical condition today because he has been dealing with injuries since that time.”
Pedri “not enjoying football”
He further went on to state that he believed Pedri was not at all happy with this situation either. Also on his mind were the fans of La Liga and Spain itself, both of whom Torres believes are missing Pedri:
“I think he is not enjoying football, and Spanish football isn’t either because he is a unique player that Spain and La Liga need.”
Hectic introduction
The 2020/21 season was indeed a hectic one for the now 20-year-old midfielder. Playing for Barcelona and Spain across various competitions, the youngsters accumulated close to 4911 minutes across the season.
While it could be a mixture of different factors, Torres’s words do hold some validity to them. Overused with little to no rest, Pedri was played to his extreme capabilities during that campaign.
Since that campaign, the former Golden Boy Award winner has suffered six muscle injuries at different points. Most of those incidents primarily included injuries to his hamstring.
The €100 million-rated Barcelona star is expected to feature in the upcoming clash against Real Sociedad. It remains to be seen how much of an impact or participation he ends up having in it, however.
