It has not gone unnoticed that for the first time since Xavi Hernandez has arrived as Barcelona manager, he will have a fully fit squad. Provided he can make it to Espanyol on Saturday without any issues in training, he should to be able to select all but one of his players.
Star striker Robert Lewandowski is currently facing a three-game suspension after he was deemed to have insulted the referee. France defender Jules Kounde will only return to training either Wednesday or Thursday from his World Cup holidays, making it unlikely that he will feature. Nevertheless he could make the bench. Compatriot Ousmane Dembele returned on the 26th of December, just eight days after the final.
Barcelona have been through a hellish last two seasons in terms of injuries, with it often having a major impact on their season. Meanwhile the likes of Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele have been ruled out consistently with long-term issues in recent seasons.
Speaking to RAC1 (via Marca), veteran Sergi Roberto has revealed some worrying practices while dealing with his own issues.
“Since Koeman’s time, when I was injured at Atletico Madrid’s ground, I spent two months recovering, I relapsed again, two more months… I did not recover well and I was playing injured for a long time.”
“There were times that when I would have preferred that the coach didn’t put me on because I wasn’t well. But I was playing, training… but I knew I wasn’t well and I couldn’t give one hundred percent. When Doctor [Ricard] Pruna arrived, he told me that I had to have surgery, that he didn’t understand how I was playing like that.”
Roberto was limited to just 12 appearances last season, a figure he has already matched this campaign.
It speaks to a culture of players playing injured and not recovering properly, which not only would have hurt Barcelona on the pitch, but also jeopardised the short careers of the footballers themselves.
We are happy to see barcelna claim la liga trophy by this time insha allah