Barcelona's injury woes mount as Hansi Flick relies on experience for Osasuna clash
Barca will be seeking an eighth straight win on Saturday at Osasuna, but they will have to do so without a growing list of injured players.
Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was the latest to join absentees that included Dani Olmo, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, Ronald Araujo, Fermin Lopez, and Andreas Christensen and the German coach said defender Inigo Martinez was a doubt after suffering an injury against Getafe on Wednesday.
Flick remained confident in Inaki Pena's ability to become the team’s starting goalkeeper in the absence of Ter Stegen and added that De Jong and Gavi were close to returning next week.
“This is about quality of the players. They are very well prepared and train with so much passion and mentality," Flick told reporters on Friday. "Evidently as we did before there will be some rotations."
"But also it’s important the experienced players are with us, like Raphinha and Lewandowski. Inigo received a blow, so we will see how that is.
"From what I see in training, (De Jong) is in good shape, also Gavi picking up the pace. Frenkie is very close to returning. Tomorrow he will have a rest because he needs it he trained a lot."
The return of De Jong, who last played in April, could be a major boost for Barcelona as they brace for tough clashes in October, when they host Bayern Munich in the Champions League three days before visiting Real Madrid in LaLiga on October 26.
"(De Jong) is an experienced player and he can help us greatly, even if he plays 20 minutes but we will see what happens next week."
A win on Saturday at Osasuna, who remain unbeaten at home this season, would equal Barcelona's best start to a LaLiga campaign, previously set during the 2013/14 season under coach Tata Martino.
"It's always great to win though we aren't focusing on the record. From 11 points, Osasuna have they won 10 points at home, where the crowd really gets behind them and I like that atmosphere," he added.
Barcelona have been banned from selling tickets to their fans for their next Champions League away game, at Red Star Belgrade on November 6, after their supporters were found guilty of racist behaviour during their match against Monaco.
