Barcelona have had their fair share of injury issues so far this season, with four key first team players having been struck down over the last few weeks.
Ronald Araujo has since returned to action, but Pedri and Frenkie de Jong have now been joined by Robert Lewandowski, who is expected to be out for a month after suffering an ankle injury against Porto on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media ahead of Sunday’s trip to Granada (via Relevo), Xavi Hernandez admitted that it is a big blow for Barcelona to lose Lewandowski.
“Robert’s loss hurts. He is our goal scorer, our reference point in attack, and also a leader. Ferran and Joao can play there but we also brought Pau Víctor from the B side. We have several options that can adapt to his role.”
“Robert is a differential for us, he transmits fear to our rivals. We will try to make his replacement do that too. It will be difficult to replace a world class player like Lewandowski.”
Xavi on Barcelona's injury issues 👇 pic.twitter.com/ANXnLANAEY
— Football España (@footballespana_) October 7, 2023
Xavi also addressed Oriol Romeu’s situation. The 32-year-old has come under-fire after a poor performance against Porto, but his head coach will continue to back him.
“I’m very happy to have Oriol Romeu. The other day he didn’t play well, but neither did the whole team. There is no need to change things. Oriol is a guarantee, I am delighted with him. He’s an extraordinary signing. He gives us a lot of things.”
Xavi also address reports that he could use Andreas Christensen as an auxiliary pivot, with de Jong out of action for the next few weeks.
“Christensen would not be the first choice when it comes to accompanying Oriol in the absence of Frenkie. There are alternatives, such as Marc Casado, Gundogan. We do not rule out Andreas, he has already played in that position for Denmark.”
Barcelona are hoping to go into the international break with a victory, and they will fancy their chances even without key players being available. However, Granada won’t make things easy for the reigning La Liga champions.
