FC Barcelona visits Bruges this Wednesday for the fourth matchday of the UEFA Champions League league phase. In the press conference prior to the match, Hansi Flick explained how Lamine Yamal is progressing from the pubalgia that made him miss five matches this season.

'10' was in the starting lineup and scored a great goal against Elche, in a match where he was on the field for 88 minutes. However, the discomfort in his pubis has clearly diminished his usual explosiveness on the wing. In this regard, Flick was blunt about the physical condition of the player from Mataró and the management carried out by the coaching staff with the 18-year-old player.

"It's not a question for me whether there's an option for surgery. He has trained well. His physical problems have improved, he's taking it day by day. We have to wait... be calm and let him progress," Flick warned about Lamine, who will once again be in the starting lineup on Wednesday.

Flick trusts in maintaining the upward trend in performance in Bruges

Regarding the opponent on matchday 4 of the Champions League, the Heidelberg native understands that they will have to be careful in the aerial game, but the key lies in the collective work of the Barça team with and without the ball against Bruges.

"There are taller players, more so than ours. But it's not a problem, the important thing is the attitude. I think it will be a similar match to the one we played the other day against Elche. There will be good moments and others not so much. It's important for them to play at home and they will want to play a good match," argued the coach.

In that sense, he reiterated the importance of maintaining intensity and concentration for the full 90 minutes in order to add another victory. "The mentality and attitude of the players is to be focused on playing well and not losing the ball. Against Elche, we took a big step forward."

Flick 'brushes aside' performance comparisons with last season

Furthermore, Hansi Flick avoided making comparisons with Barça's performance in his two seasons in charge of the team. For the German, beyond the depth of the 25/26 squad, the injuries have made the difference in seeing a decline in both the game and the results.

"You can't compare this team with last year's. We started in a different way, there are injuries... To play at the highest level it's complicated with the absences. Little by little they are going to play again and we see the future better," the Barça coach pointed out.

Regarding the starting XI against Brugge, Flick made it clear that Marc Casadó will remain as Frenkie de Jong's partner in midfield. However, he did not guarantee to return Robert Lewandowski to the line-up, nor to continue rotating his centre-backs.

"Last season, they didn't play so many center backs. But we have many matches and there are many options. We can play better as a team," he stated regarding the adjustments in defense.