Luis Enrique has insisted that Barcelona’s recent spate of injuries will not “plunge us into misery” ahead of Sunday’s encounter with Levante in La Liga.
Rafinha’s season-ending injury against Roma midweek saw him become the Catalans’ sixth absence, joining Thomas Vermaelen, Dani Alves, Douglas, Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan, but the Coach is confident that his squad are strong enough to cope until January.
“I expect [Levante to show] the same identity as they have recent games,” he began at a Press conference.
“They commit a lot of players in defence and will pose us some difficulties. It’s always tough to attack a team who sit back.
“We’re a team who must overcome any problems the season throws at us.
“The news about Rafinha is sad for the player, but from there we’ll have to compensate [for his absence] with the younger lads.
“I can’t guarantee that there won’t be any more injuries, but I firmly believe that we’ll be fine for the end of the season.
“We can register new players in three months’ time, and until then we’ll face [our challenges] with strength and calmness, knowing that we’re a great team and can play for every trophy.
“[Dani Alves] is feeling very good and [his return is] the good news of the week, but we’ll wait until [Sunday].
“The club consulted FIFA a few months ago to see whether we could register new players in light of long-term injuries, but the answer was no.
“I expect us to remain as we are until January. It’s not a matter of whether it is fair or not, but FIFA’s discretion. I won’t get my hopes up.
“I’ve always seen a great attitude from the younger lads. [Gerard] Gumbau’s a very interesting player. If he wasn’t, we’d have only 17 players in our squad.
“[On Radja Nainggolan’s tackle on Rafinha], we should assess whether it was deliberate or not. It was a bad challenge, but I saw no malice from Nainggolan.
“I see Marc [Andre ter Stegen] in a very good way, like he’s been all season.
“He should only be affected by criticism of the Coach, but there isn’t any. The life of a footballer is closely related to criticism.
“[Despite our muscle injuries], we remain on the same line physically, trying to protect players and avoiding injuries. It’s a tough sport, with many injuries, but we won’t change our preparations.
“We’ve had a much more demanding start to the season than the last. Hopefully we’ll have the same problems next season as it means we’ll have won trophies. [The injuries] will not plunge us into misery.
“[On scoring only a few goals this season], I’m not concerned. We’re in very good shape at the moment and the goals will follow.
“[On using Lionel Messi or Neymar in midfielder], I haven’t considered it. They should be near the opponents’ goal.”
