Barcelona are currently undergoing their worst injury crisis in the Hansi Flick era, with as many as 10 players nursing injury issues going into El Clasico last week. The Blaugrana have already sustained half of the injuries that they suffered in the entirety of last season.
A muscle tear for Pedri has hit the Barcelona team hard say Diario AS, after he went the entirety of last season without any injury issues. He is the latest to fall, and only a handful of players have remained fit this season, but the club are worried about the situation.
Two figures being blamed at Barcelona internally
Last year Barcelona had their best injury record since before the pandemic, suffering just 20 injuries over the course of the season. For that, the fitness department led by Julio Tous and Raul Martinez were praised, with Director of Football Deco taking the credit for replacing the previous staff.
However this season, the narrative has flipped. Alarm bells are ringing, and the club are desperate to see the ‘negative dynamic reversed’. While the club has pushed focus towards the national teams, which is undoubtedly a factor, the results point to the major difference being at Barcelona.
Barcelona players unhappy with fitness team
Meanwhile RAC1 corroborate this narrative, saying that the Barcelona dressing room are increasingly unhappy with the fitness preparation, and believe it is playing a key role in both the injury crisis and their declining performances. Many have begun working with personal trainers to try and address the issue, feeling they are not doing enough strengthening to go with their conditioning.
The Blaugrana players are under the impression that training has not been intense enough from the start, and it is taking its toll. This was a deliberate strategy by Tous and Martinez to reduce the workload at the start of the season, in an attempt to address the fact that Barcelona were struggling for legs in the final two months of the season.
Hansi Flick has little margin to change matters
Flick has little to do with the issue, explain the Catalan station. The German manager did not bring in his own fitness coaches, and the methodology planned out by Tous has been carried out without much of his input. It is true he has not been able to rotate as much as he would like, due to injuries but also results, but now in the middle of the season, altering the plans is a tricky task.
The first important steps for Eric García’s renewal until 2030 have been made. The deal will be completed in the coming weeks. Both parties are in agreement, they just need to iron out some contractual details. @FCBRAC1
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) October 31, 2025
Barcelona board also come in for blame
However the Barcelona board, and President Joan Laporta have also come in for criticism. Last season Barcelona did go to the United States for their preseason tour, but the intensity of the exercisises was on a different level. This year, Barcelona traveled to South Korea and Japan, but the poor organisation and lack of rest factored into the trip brought complaints from the players, and Flick, who said as much to Laporta. This lack of time to recover was signalled as part of the reason Robert Lewandowski went into the season with a muscle injury.
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