World Sports: Barcelona’s midfield lineup is not complete, Flick relies more on Olmo, Fermin and others

"World Sports News" reported that Barcelona coach Flick is facing a serious midfield crisis. In the game against Celta Vigo, the team not only lost Casado who withdrew from the warm-up due to adductor discomfort, but also lost De Jong who received a red card.

After the international break, Flick must piece together a midfielder. Pedri's recovery is faster than expected, and Flick is cautiously hopeful that he can return, but he originally expected to be sidelined for three to four months. (Note: The original text of World Sports stated that Pedri would have been sidelined for 3-4 months. Earlier Western media reported that it was expected to be about one and a half months)

Fortunately, Casado's condition is not serious and he is expected to be able to play against Athletic Bilbao. But De Jong will miss the game due to suspension.

As for other players, Garvey's situation is the most serious. When he underwent arthroscopic surgery in late September, it came as an "unpleasant surprise" when doctors discovered the injured area was "much more serious." He was originally scheduled to be out for five weeks, but now it will take four to five months, and he is not expected to return until early March. In addition, Bernal, who was absent for a long time due to a knee injury, did not receive Flick's full trust after his return, and his playing time was extremely sporadic.

As a solution, Flick may rely on two more offensive attacking midfielders, Olmo and Fermin, with Olmo proving that he can retreat against Celta Vigo. The other two "one-size-fits-all" options are Eric Garcia and Christensen, the latter of whom played as a central midfielder against Celta Vigo.