Joan García left La Cartuja with discomfort: will he play against Eintracht?

Published New:7/12/2025 - 18:59h

Updated New:7/12/2025 - 18:59h

Joan García left the Betis-Barça (3-5) match at La Cartuja with difficulty. The player from Sallent, however, trained normally in Sunday's recovery session

FC Barcelona left La Cartuja with a scare regarding the physical condition of Joan García. The Catalan goalkeeper left the stadium walking with some difficulty, as a result of a knock in the final minutes of the match against Betis (3-5), where the goalkeeper conceded a couple of goals, one of them from a penalty in the 90th minute.

Fortunately, **the Sallent player trained normally on Sunday at the Ciutat Esportiva** and, for now, there are no doubts regarding his return to goal next Tuesday, against Eintracht Frankfurt (9:00 PM CEST).

Hansi Flick led training with an eye on Champions League matchday 6, with specific work for the starters at La Cartuja and normal work for the rest of the squad. In principle, the manager plans to make a couple of adjustments to his lineup, with Raphinha and Frenkie de Jong returning to the starting XI.

Joan García had a good afternoon against Betis, despite conceding again

In Joan García's case, the Sallent native must also remain in goal to play what will be his thirteenth official match with Barça, his third in the Champions League group stage. The '13' conceded 3 goals again against Betis, just as he did against Chelsea, although he did not have a bad performance against the 'Verdiblancos'.

The Catalan goalkeeper made 2 saves and recovered 15 balls, in addition to completing 39 out of 49 passes (80%). The goals by Diego Llorente and Cucho Hernández in the final minutes improved the score for the Betis team, in addition to inflating García's statistics in the Cúle goal.

So far, Joan has conceded 13 goals in 12 matches, keeping 4 clean sheets. Since his return from a knee injury that kept him out for a couple of months, the 24-year-old goalkeeper has only managed to keep his goal intact against Athletic (4-0), although he has looked very secure between the posts.

Barça, however, continues to concede too many chances per game. Not in vain, the team has had to come from behind in the last three league matchdays and has already conceded 30 goals in its first 21 games of the 25/26 season

Barça reaches Champions matchday 6 with most starters available

For the sixth matchday of the league, Flick will have most of his starting players available. Just like against Betis, Dani Olmo and Ronald Araujo will remain sidelined. The Terrassa native, due to a dislocation in his left shoulder, will remain in the infirmary until early January.

The 'charrúa', on a leave granted by the club to recover emotionally after his drop in performance in recent months, which worsened after being sent off in the visit to Chelsea. **Ter Stegen** expects to receive medical clearance this week, but he would only be available again for the league match against Osasuna

And, in the case of Gavi, the midfielder will be out until mid-February, after undergoing surgery on his right knee. Frenkie de Jong did not play against Betis due to flu-like symptoms, but should return to the XI on Tuesday. Raphinha, for his part, had a rest day at La Cartuja, as did Lewandowski, and they will have no problem starting, if Flick so wishes.