Per Body: Barcelona’s injury situation is still serious and prevention efforts have not been effective.

Hupu, October 28th: ​​Barcelona's injury situation has always been in a delicate situation, and the "FIFA virus" during the international match day has made the situation even worse. A long list of injuries left Flick stretched at critical moments of the season. Remember what the German coach said in his press conference last year: "November!" The team's poor record at the time was partly due to the outbreak of injuries.

Many people may think that Barcelona has a lot of injuries this year, and this is not unfounded. As many as seven players were unable to make the squad for the El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu due to injuries. Yet if we look at the injury list so far this season and compare it to the same period last year, we get an unexpected result.

Injury situation this season

Since the start of the season, Barcelona has recorded a total of 13 injuries involving 12 players; 3 of them are traumatic (Joan Garcia, Marc Bernal and Garvey), 11 are muscle problems (ter Stegen, Balde, De Jong, Fermin, Olmo, Ferran Torres, Rafinha, Hjalmar, Lewandowski twice injured, and Christensen). It should be noted that Mark Bernal's injury is not a new one this year. He was injured last season, but he missed the first three games of the new season before receiving medical clearance. But obviously, last season's main offensive trident has experienced varying degrees of injuries this season, which has had a great impact on the team - although it has not yet been fatal.

Comparison of injuries

During the same period last year, as of the end of October, the numbers were almost the same: 11 players with a total of 12 injuries. The total number of traumatic injuries at that time was one more (ter Stegen, Bernal, Garvey and De Jong) and one less muscular injury (Araujo, Eric Garcia twice, Christensen, Olmo, Fermin, Ansu Fati and Ferran).

Therefore, the number of injuries Barcelona suffered during the same period last season is almost exactly the same as the number accumulated so far this season. Given that this is an isolated case this season, this shouldn't set off alarm bells too much. The tight and demanding schedule has consequences that are ultimately borne by the players who compete in an increasingly entertainment-oriented sport. Having said that, the physical parameter data received by the technical team does worry Flick, as it suggests that prevention efforts are not paying off. This concern is even stronger when we recall that the team had a good summer break and completed pre-season preparations.

Only four "survivors "

It is worth mentioning that under German coach Flick, only four players have never been injured. They are Szczesny, Kubasi, Gerard Martin and Pedri. Each of these people has their own special circumstances, but what the four of them have in common is that they have never stepped into Barcelona's injury room during the two seasons mentioned above.

Goalkeeper Szczesny was suspended for one game after being sent off in the Spanish Super Cup final against Real Madrid. Kubasi's situation is similar: he received a direct red card in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, causing him to miss the second leg. Gerard Martin fell during the U21 European Cup against Slovakia in June, resulting in dislocation of the fifth metacarpal bone of his right hand, but this did not prevent him from participating in the entire pre-season preparations. Finally, Pedri missed just one game last season: a La Liga match against Valencia in January due to gastroenteritis caused by the flu.