A Spanish press report stated today, Wednesday, that Polish player “Robert Lewandowski,” the Barcelona striker, is ready to participate in the team’s match against Elche. The match is scheduled to take place next Saturday at the Montjuïc stadium, as part of the eleventh round of the Spanish League “La Liga” competitions.
According to the Spanish newspaper “AS,” “Lewandowski” is now fully prepared to play matches again. The newspaper confirmed that the Polish striker is close to returning to the field after fully recovering from his injury.
“Lewandowski” suffered a muscle tear in the hamstring area (left thigh), which required him to be absent from Barcelona’s ranks in the last three matches against Olympiacos, Girona, and Real Madrid.
In a related context, Barcelona has also regained the services of its goalkeeper, “Juan Garcia,” who was able to participate in the team’s group training today.
The Barça goalkeeper suffered a tear in the internal meniscus of his left knee during his team’s match against Real Oviedo, which required him to undergo surgery on the twenty-seventh of September.
The expected recovery period for the goalkeeper ranged between four and six weeks, but he is showing remarkable improvement and has not been definitively ruled out of the team’s list for the Elche match.
It is worth mentioning that “Juan Garcia” joined Barcelona at the beginning of the current season from Espanyol, after activating the release clause in his contract.
However, the Barcelona management is not rushing the return of “Juan Garcia,” “Dani Olmo,” and “Lewandowski” to participate in matches, especially in light of the existence of alternatives of the same quality.
“Lewandowski” Statistics
“Lewandowski” has participated in nine matches this season in various competitions (seven matches in La Liga and two matches in the Champions League), during which he managed to score four goals, all of which came in the Spanish League, without succeeding in scoring on the European level.
“Lewandowski” scored two goals in his team’s match against Valencia, and one goal in each of the matches against Real Oviedo and Real Sociedad, while he was unable to score in six other matches.
He also missed the opening match against Real Mallorca due to injury, in addition to the last two matches against Girona and Olympiacos for the same injury he suffered with the Polish national team.
Defensive decline and influential injuries
There is no doubt that the Barcelona team is exposed to a greater number of dangerous opportunities this season compared to previous seasons, and this is due to the bold attacking approach adopted by coach “Flick,” which involves some risk. However, this approach previously gave the team greater gains than it incurred in losses.
The German coach “Hans Flick” has been working for several weeks to address this defect without abandoning his tactical principles, but the system has not yet regained its full effectiveness.
In addition, the injuries contributed to increasing the complexity of the Catalan team’s situation, as Barcelona played the last El Clásico match against Real Madrid while suffering from influential absences that far exceeded those suffered by its opponent, which limited the tactical options available to “Flick.”
Looking at the list of substitutes at the Bernabéu stadium, the stronghold of the Meringue that hosted the last El Clásico, we find that most of the players have a limited number of minutes in the first division, which made the coach lack alternative solutions. Therefore, the return of injured players and the restoration of depth in the squad is a fundamental pillar in the team’s recovery plan.
“Rafinha”.. The missing energy in the attack
The list of influential absences did not stop at the defense line, but extended to include the attack line, as the team lost the efforts of “Juan Garcia,” “Lewandowski,” “Dani Olmo,” and “Rafinha,” that is, two of the three main attackers, in addition to the young goalkeeper who was considered one of the most important bets in the summer transfer period.
“Olmo,” who is considered one of the keys to Barcelona’s game under the leadership of “Hans Flick” last season, was also absent due to his physical instability. Therefore, these absences weakened Barcelona’s strength, but they cannot be a justification for the decline in performance, as the available elements are capable of providing enjoyable football that is commensurate with the team’s identity.
“Yamal” crisis confuses calculations
Among the factors that raise concerns for the Barcelona coaching staff is the condition of “Lamine Yamal,” the team’s star, who appeared at a lower level than usual in the El Clásico match. His groin injury limits his starts and ability to create, which makes his full recovery necessary before returning to the field.
“Flick” believes that caution regarding “Lamine Yamal” has become a must, even if it requires his absence for a full month from the competitions, in order to ensure his full readiness when the competitions resume in the new year.
For its part, the Catalan newspaper “Sport” quoted “Pedro Luis Ripoll,” a doctor specializing in field injuries, as explaining in detail the injury that “Yamal” suffered in the “groin” area at the beginning of the current season, where he confirmed that it is a pain that is difficult to treat quickly.
“Luis Ripoll” stressed, according to “Sport,” that groin pain is a painful condition, which greatly reduces the player’s performance, pointing out that the player who suffers from that injury, his ability to move and shoot decreases by about 50%.
The newspaper pointed out that the statements of the specialist doctor clarify the difficulty of the situation and the impact of the injury directly on “Yamal’s” performance on the field.
The newspaper explained that this injury results in the player’s inability to shoot at the goal well, and he also faces difficulty in movement.
The doctor said in his statements: “It is a chronic injury, meaning that the worst is yet to come.”
