Barcelona are hanging onto their season by their fingernails. Potentially 10 points behind Real Madrid going into the weekend, with only the Champions League remaining out of the cup competitions, they can barely field a team. Behind them, Athletic Club will not give them an easy ride into the top four either.
The Blaugrana lost Joao Felix for much of February earlier in the week, and Ferran Torres came off with a muscle problem that will keep him out for the same length of time against Osasuna. It took the total of injury issues to nine, leaving Xavi Hernandez with just 12 senior players to select from. Youngsters Lamine Yamal, Hector Fort, Pau Cubarsi, and Marc Guiu very much appear to be part of Xavi’s plans now too as a result.
Xavi: "Fermín has given us a lot and so has Vitor. We needed depth and the subs worked. We could have won more comfortably."
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 31, 2024
However Diario AS say things could get even worse. Ronald Araujo and Joao Cancelo both finished the Osasuna match hobbling with knee issues, and their fitness is in question for Saturday’s away trip to Alaves. The pair are key for the Blaugrana, and would likely leave Xavi relying on Fort at left-back and Andreas Christensen in the middle of defence alongside Cubarsi if they are not available. The Danish centre-back has also been struggling with chronic issues, with Xavi claiming he is making an enormous effort in recent weeks.
More concerning is that 16-year-old Lamine Yamal also finished the Osasuna win struggling. His availability will depend on how he progresses over the next few days, but the alarm bells will be ringing for Barcelona. Having run Pedri and Gavi into serious injury issues, Lamine Yamal should be protected better if Barcelona are to learn anything, but he has played the full match over the last four games, including some extra time against Athletic Club.
Image via Fran Santiago/Getty Images
