Barcelona’s injury crisis dates back to 2019/20 | OneFootball

It has been a very difficult season for Barcelona so far. There have been a lot of hurdles for the team starting from the departure of Lionel Messi, to the financial issues that restricted the club’s spending power in the market, to the managerial change.

But the biggest factor for the on-field issues has been the series of injuries that the squad has suffered over the course of the campaign. The Blaugrana began the campaign with star men like Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ansu Fati, Ousmane Dembele all out with injuries.

Soon enough, the club had to deal with problems to Martin Braithwaite, Pedri, while new signing Sergio Aguero had to wait till mid-October to make his debut, only to be forced into early retirement due to a heart ailment. Memphis Depay, too, has battled injury issues.

Fati’s situation, however, has been the most hellish. The teenage prodigy made a big impact on returning from injury late last year but was soon sidelined in November due to another hamstring issue. Having made his comeback last week, the 19-year-old has once again relapsed and could be out for two months.

Sergi Roberto, meanwhile, is unlikely to return to action until April while the likes of Gerard Pique, Frenkie de Jong, Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia have all spent time out on the sidelines over the course of the season.

According to data on Transfermarkt, Barcelona have not had a single day without a player being injured since early 2020. Almost two years with at least one star on the roster being sidelined with an injury problem certainly raises question marks over the medical department in place.

Barcelona have made changes since Xavi Hernandez’s appointment, having gotten rid of Ramon Canal, who was the team’s head of medical services. The Catalans brought in Dr Ricard Pruna, who had been at the club from 1996 until September 2020, but it seems as if the situation has not improved a great deal.

Things certainly need to be looked at, and quickly so, as these many injuries do not really reflect well on the medical department, while hampering the team’s progress on the pitch.