One of the sour notes from Barcelona’s victory over Girona on Sunday was an injury to Dani Olmo, which saw the Spain international forced off with a muscle strain just after the hour-mark. It is more serious than first thought, and will rule him out for up to a month.
Olmo has a thigh problem, and while it was initially suspected that he would miss just a week or perhaps two at the most, Sport say he will be out for three to four weeks. The likelihood is that he will not return before the October international break, which begins in three weeks’ time. Barcelona have since confirmed that he will miss four to five weeks, which also puts his presence against Sevilla in doubt.
Survey: Who should replace Dani Olmo, if he can't play due to hamstring discomfort, in the starting XI against AS Monaco? 🗣️
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 16, 2024
Barcelona will be without their playmaker for their Champions League debut against AS Monaco, as well as a hard trip to La Ceramica to face an in-form Villarreal. In addition, he is all but ruled out for clashes with Getafe (H), Osasuna (A), Young Boys (H) and Alaves (A). Their next clash after the international break is Sevilla at home on the 20th of October, which Olmo should be fit for, with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid up next after that.
Tests conducted this morning on Dani Olmo have revealed that he has injured his right hamstring. He is expected to be unavailable for about 4 to 5 weeks. pic.twitter.com/8XB1Qa4RE3
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 16, 2024
Starting the season with three goals in just 189 minutes, Olmo’s signing has generated plenty of excitement, but the concerns about his durability before he signed will return now. Pablo Torre, Pau Victor and Ferran Torres will now be candidates to replace him, although Hansi Flick may seek to shift things about and have one of Raphinha or Pedri in his position.