“If he wasn’t a professional… But he takes care of everything”, Barcelona is surprised by Dani Olmo’s situation. In the club’s sports area, they find no explanation for the scourge of injuries that Hansi Flick’s team has suffered since the start of the campaign: 15 in total. “We have a lot of injuries and some are important players”, lamented the German. The majority, however, are muscular, 12, triple the number recorded last season at this time. And Dani Olmo is precisely the symbol of a problem for which, for now, no solution can be found in the Joan Gamper Sports City.
Olmo drags an old Station of the Cross with injuries. Since the 2021-2022 season, when he arrived at Red Bull Leipzig, the Catalan midfielder has suffered 11 injuries, eight of them muscular. However, half of these illnesses were already suffered as a Barcelona player, and he has been at the Barça club for just over a year. Olmo takes care of his food to the point of always traveling with a cook. “He even takes vacations,” they explain from Ciudad Deportiva. In the afternoon he continues with his preparation routines, in addition to taking care of his rest. “What they now call invisible training, Dani does everything”, point out the same sources. However, something is not working for either Olmo or Barcelona.
The issue of injuries worries Hansi Flick, obviously, but also the internal management of Ciudad Deportiva. The German coach had to call up an important player and then not let him play for even a minute, after the medical department couldn’t reach an agreement with the physiotherapists. While the doctors considered that the football player was not prepared to compete, the recoverers thought otherwise. And in the middle, Flick. The German coach was forced to speed up Raphinha’s return. However, his coaching staff guarantees that Flick only tried to contain – even more – the internal problems. “The recoverers rushed,” warn those who work with the German.
Furthermore, in the locker room they understand that not all physical methods work for all players. “It helped Pedri, yes; but maybe not the rest”, highlights a Barça player. With Olmo, precisely, they don’t find the formula. The 20th was subjected to a physical study at the beginning of the year and the conclusions, published by Mundo Deportivo, were positive: “His parameters are within normal limits for his age and for the load of games and training”.
After the latest muscle injury to the soleus of his left leg, suffered during the last training camp with Spain, Flick took extreme care with Olmo. “They are coming back little by little. They are not yet ready to play the whole game, maybe 30 or 45 minutes,” said the German about Olmo and Lewandowski after the match against Elche. Against Bruges, both played just 32 minutes. At Barcelona he hopes that today (9pm, Movistar), against Celta, he will continue to improve his configuration.
De la Fuente also helps protect Olmo, even though he wants him close by. “You have to be careful with all football players, but this is a risky sport. As long as he is available, he is a very important player. For us he always adds up. We will see if he plays more, less or nothing. But he will definitely add up”, commented the La Roja coach, who is also betting on Fermín, now replacing Olmo at Barcelona.
After the break, the ward will begin to decongest with the return of Joan García. “We know we have to play better and when everyone comes back, after two or three games, they will already be at their best level to help us”, said Flick about Pedri, Raphinha and company. “But”, warned the German, “until then we will have to fight”.
In the search for answers, Olmo appears. Hermetic when it comes to talking about his physical problems, he works to find the formula that guarantees continuity. “When he’s good, he’s one of the best midfielders in Europe”, they boast in the sports field. The problem for Flick is that this isn’t always the case. And now Barcelona needs leaders.
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