"I feel a bit guilty" - Barcelona coach Hansi Flick on Fermin Lopez injury

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said that striker Ansu Fati, still unused this season due to plantar fasciitis, is ready to play 45 minutes in the team's Champions League opener against Monaco.

However, Flick did not want to reveal in which position he intends to use Fati on his return to Barca this season. "We'll see when he's on the pitch. He enjoys playing and scoring and that's what we need, players who score goals," he summed up.

The return of Ansu Fati is great news for the German coach, who has lost another of his first-choice players to injury, attacker Dani Olmo, who will be out for a month after rupturing the femoral biceps in his right leg against Girona.

"Dani has his own quality with the ball in front of goal and the confidence to shoot. I hope we can continue to play at the same level without him," he commented on the Terrassa player's absence.

The Barcelona infirmary is still saturated with half a dozen players and Flick has once again had to call on La Masia, which he labelled as "the identity of this club".

Cousins Guille and Toni Fernandez are the latest additions to the first team and have been included in the squad for Monaco. "We have to accept our situation with injuries, but when we need a player, we know that in La Masia we can find him. I have no doubt that they will play very well," he said of their presence in the squad.

Flick, who admitted feeling "a bit guilty" about the relapse of midfielder Fermin Lopez - "I should have spoken to the U21 coach (Santi Denia)," he explained - is confident that injuries will not slow down the cruising speed the team has reached.

 

September 18, 2024