Barca devastated before El Clasico with Real Madrid: Hansi Flick alarm

Just over a week before El Clasico, Barca's squad is devastated by injuries, raising alarm bells for Hansi Flick.

Injury nightmare

Two weeks ago, Barcelona entered the international break in a state of deep disappointment: losing to PSG in the Champions League, then being thrashed 4-1 by Sevilla in La Liga in an unbelievable scenario.

At the time, Hansi Flick believed the break would help the team catch their breath, recover physically and mentally. But now, things have only gotten worse.

Barca lost Lewandowski. Photo: Imago

Barca's injury list has turned into a nightmare. Ferran Torres, who struggled against Sevilla, has now picked up a muscle strain and is in danger of missing El Clasico.

Robert Lewandowski, who has been affected by age, also has a thigh problem. Lamine Yamal has returned to training with the team but it is not yet known whether he has completely recovered from his groin injury.

When those names are added to the already long list of Gavi, Raphinha, Dani Olmo, Frenkie de Jong, Fermin Lopez, Joan Garcia and Ter Stegen, Barca is like a mobile hospital. Nearly a third of the squad cannot play, with 10 days to go until the battle with Real Madrid.

It is a prospect no coach wants to face, especially Hansi Flick – who has ambitions of returning Barca to the top in his second season in charge.

After a promising start, his team has now completely declined: pressing loosely, attacking without ideas, and physical strength exhausted.

It is all the more ironic that the club's fitness department, headed by Julio Tous, pledged to halve the number of injuries compared to last season.

“It cannot be completely eliminated, but we can reduce it by 50% if we maintain daily prevention,” Tous affirmed in October 2024.

A year later, that promise has gone up in smoke. The Barca of autumn 2025 are living through the worst “injury pandemic” in many years.

Lamine Yamal returns to training with Barca but it is unclear whether he will be fit enough to play in El Clasico. Photo: MD

Since the start of the season, the club’s medical department has seen a new patient arrive almost every week. Injuries range from hamstrings, quads, knees to pubic bones – most of them mechanical, which should have been prevented by the rehabilitation and stretching exercises that Tous prided himself on.

Physical fitness questions

“We don’t understand,” a member of the medical team was quoted by Sport as saying. “Last season everything was fine, same workload, same training routine. Now the players’ bodies react differently.”

Many believe that Flick 's training load – which requires a higher intensity than Xavi's – could leave his defence unable to adapt.

But the German coach insists the cause is not that simple: “If the problem was just physical, we would have overcome it. I think it is a combination of many factors: a tight schedule, mental fatigue, and even nutrition.”

The problem is, Barca don’t have time to analyze. After the international break, the team will play Girona (9:15 p.m. on October 18), Olympiacos and Real Madrid – a series of matches that could decide half the season. In that situation, Flick is forced to make do with what is left.

Pedri – the rare one who is not injured – has played almost every game, and is showing signs of fatigue. Players from the B team could become a temporary solution.

Flick's biggest concern is his attack. Without Lewandowski, Barca have lost their scoring support. Ferran Torres and Raphinha are both absent, and Lamine Yamal is still unable to sprint at full speed.

Hansi Flick has very few personnel left. Photo: EFE

That makes the 4-2-3-1 formation unstable. In a closed meeting before the players were called up to the national team, he said bluntly: "If at least two players are not back before El Clasico, we will have to change the way we play."

From another angle, experts began to question the training methods of Tous - who once had conflicts with Xavi.

Are Barca paying the price for believing too much in “prevention science ”? Or are they simply entering a natural decline cycle for pillars who have been working too hard?

Whatever the reason, the consequences are clear. A year after boasting of a “50% reduction in injuries” , Julio Tous is now watching his team crumble.

Hansi Flick, meanwhile, tries to keep his composure in press conferences, but his eyes say it all: this is the most difficult period since arriving in Catalunya.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/barca-tan-nat-truoc-el-clasico-voi-real-madrid-bao-dong-hansi-flick-2453176.html