Barcelona’s overcome Osasuna at Montjuic introduced loads of pleasure but additionally a couple of issues. Chief amongst them was the early substitution of Dani Olmo, who left the pitch within the first half on account of a muscle problem.
Nevertheless, Frenkie de Jong’s state of affairs stirred additional fear when he was taken off at half-time by Hansi Flick, who changed him with Pablo Torre.
Preliminary issues over the Dutchman’s withdrawal have been put to relaxation after Helena Condis clarified that De Jong’s substitution was merely a precautionary measure on account of overload relatively than any critical harm.
Flick, conscious of the demanding fixture record and the toll it takes on his squad, opted to play it protected with De Jong to forestall a possible setback that might rule him out for essential upcoming matches.
Defending gamers
The talk surrounding fixture congestion and the restricted relaxation gamers obtain has solely intensified lately.
With Barcelona eyeing success throughout varied competitions, dropping a participant of De Jong’s calibre for a prolonged interval could be a blow Flick can hardly afford.
Frenkie de Jong was taken off at half-time. (Picture by David Ramos/Getty Photographs)
The midfielder’s performances have been instrumental, as proven towards Osasuna, the place he performed a big position in Barcelona’s opening aim by way of his link-up play with Ferran Torres and Balde.
De Jong seems to be approaching his peak type, which solely provides to the urgency of managing his minutes properly.
Flick trusts De Jong
Flick’s belief in him stays full, evident from his feedback following the Osasuna match the place he confirmed De Jong may be very a lot in his plans for the upcoming conflict towards Girona.
Nonetheless, the German supervisor might choose to deal with De Jong’s involvement cautiously to minimise the chance of a extra extreme harm. As Barcelona’s midfield orchestrator, his health could possibly be essential to the staff’s ambitions this season.
How Flick manages De Jong’s workload within the coming weeks may play a big position in guaranteeing the participant stays accessible for the ultimate stretch of the marketing campaign.