Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has said he feels guilty about letting Fermin Lopez join the Spain Under-21 squad earlier this month after the midfielder was ruled out for another three weeks.
Lopez, 21, suffered a knock during a match with Spain in early September. He returned to light training on Tuesday but has now been ruled out until October with a thigh problem.
The spate of injuries comes after a summer in which Lopez represented his country at the European Championships and the Olympic Games, winning both tournaments and picking up the Golden Boot at the latter.
“With Fermin, it's a real shame,” Flick said at a news conference ahead of Thursday's Champions League game against Monaco. “The lad had two tournaments. Normally I feel a bit guilty because I haven't spoken to the coach with the Under-21s, because normally you have to say 'Hey, leave him here.'” [with Barça].'
“But I'm new [in the country]It's not an excuse, but I feel very guilty about it.”
The loss of López, who scored 11 goals on his first-team debut last season, adds to Barca's problems in midfield, with Dani Olmo also out for a month after injuring his hamstring in Sunday's 4-1 win at Girona.
Gavi, Frenkie de Jong and Marc Bernal are also still unavailable in midfield through injuries, but despite all that, Barcelona lead LaLiga with a perfect 15 points from five games.
“Fermín is a player we need in this situation,” added Flick. “He can score goals and is very professional.” [On Tuesday]When I saw him at the doctor's office it wasn't pleasant at all. You have to take care of the players, because sometimes it's too much.
“Gavi and Frenkie have returned to training but they are not 100%. We have to be careful with them.
“It will be difficult [directly replace] Olmo because he has quality with the ball. He can score in front of goal, make the final pass and is calm with the ball.”
Flick has called on his 16-year-old cousins Toni and Guille Fernandez to help deal with the injury crisis, which defender Jules Koundé believes is due to the increasing number of games in the football calendar.
The France international echoed Manchester City midfielder Rodri's suggestion that players may have to strike due to concerns over their increasing workload.
“There are different factors [for the injuries]”But the load of games and fatigue are one of the reasons and they don't help,” Kounde said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“I agree with everything Rodri has said. The calendar is longer every season, there are more games and less rest every year. But we have been saying this for years and no one listens to us, the players, who are the main protagonists.
“Maybe we should go on strike to make our voice heard. We are already taking too many risks and there are more and more injuries, regardless of how well we prepare for the games.
“This year there will also be players at the Club World Cup at the end of the season who could make it to 70 or 80 games. It's crazy.
“We need to get organised. There are several unions, but I think we need a message that represents all footballers. It's something we will have to discuss among the players.”
Later, Ansu Fati returns to the Barça squad to face Monaco, who just over a month ago beat the Blaugrana 3-0 in the Joan Gamper Trophy at the Olympic Stadium.
Flick says Fati is someone who will add goals to the team, playing down the loss to Monaco and saying that after five wins in five La Liga games his side are ready for this week's European opener.
“We have shown in recent games that we play seriously and with the same concentration with which we start games,” he added. “Girona was a Champions League-level game. With the ball, Girona are very good, but with our pressure they suffered a lot and we scored four goals.”
“Thursday's game is against a very good team, they beat us at the Gamper, but now it's a new situation. This is the best competition in the world. Everyone is ready, wants to play and we hope everything goes in the right direction.
“A club like Barcelona, the big clubs, always want to win titles. The Champions League is the best competition and we enjoy all of this and play at the highest level. We have to be ready to play against the best teams. If you are not focused, if you are not 100%, you have no chance in this competition.”
