Barcelona were able to continue their hundred percent winning record this season after securing a 5-2 victory over Real Betis on Saturday.
It was a convincing display from the Catalans going forward, though the night was not without its concerns at the back.
Indeed, Hansi Flick ended the game with three defenders carrying physical problems, a worrying development with a brutal run of fixtures against PSG and Real Madrid on the horizon.
A defensive injury pile-up
Gerard Martin picked up the first knock. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
The first scare came early, when Gerard Martin, deployed as a left-footed centre-back, took a blow to the heel inside the opening minutes.
The injury occurred as the defender jumped to clear an aerial ball, only for Cucho Hernandez to land on his heel in the fall.
Martin was visibly limping thereafter but managed to see out the first half, including the seven minutes of added time, before Flick opted not to take any risks and withdrew him at the break.
According to Diario SPORT, the change was purely precautionary, and Martin is still expected to feature against PSG.
His replacement, Eric Garcia, then compounded the issue. The defender, who had scored Barcelona’s fourth to settle the contest, was forced off in the closing stages with pain in his right knee.
DAZN’s cameras caught Garcia on the bench clutching the area between his knee and quadriceps, and SPORT reported that he left the stadium with a heavy bandage.
It is a problem on his right leg, a different issue to the left-knee discomfort that had kept him out of the last Spain squad.
A worrying wait for Barcelona
All eyes on Garcia’s fitness. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
With the trip to Paris just 72 hours away and the Clasico only eight days out, Garcia had been earmarked to start at right-back on both big occasions, Flick’s preferred option there over Jules Kounde.
Tests were scheduled to determine the severity of the knock, with Kounde himself also said by Flick to have finished the match carrying a problem.
Speaking after the game, the German struck a cautious note on the fitness of his defenders. Addressing the knocks, Flick said of Garcia that “he thinks it’s just a knock, but we have to wait,” before confirming that “Gerard Martin also finished with some problems.”