Flick asks the National Team to "take care of Lamine" and postpones Joan García's return

Lamine Yamal will return with Spain for the November FIFA international break for the last two World Cup qualifying matches, against Georgia (11/15) and Turkey (11/18). The FC Barcelona winger is still undergoing specific work to overcome the pubalgia that hampered his performance last month and, in this regard, Hansi Flick was clear in reiterating his concern about the workload with La Roja.

The player from Mataró returned injured in September after the matches against Bulgaria (0-3) and Turkey (0-6), where the minute management by Luis de la Fuente was harshly criticized. In this regard, Flick hopes that, this time, the National Team will take care of Lamine and avoid forcing him to play if the forward is not physically at one hundred percent.

"Lamine has changed, he's much better and training very well, he's undergoing daily treatment in the gym... He can return to his best level, but he's not yet at one hundred percent. He needs to be looked after, here and with the National Team. And I think they will also do so from the National Team," argued the Barça coach.

So far in the 25/26 season, Yamal has missed 5 of the Catalan club's 15 official matches due to his pubis discomfort. He played almost full matches in the last three games (coming off in the 87th minute against Elche) and has accumulated 799 minutes of action in 10 appearances, with 5 goals and 6 assists

Flick has Joan García available after the break and doubts Koundé for Celta-Barça

On the other hand, the German coach valued Joan García's recovery. The Catalan goalkeeper is already ready to be medically discharged after undergoing surgery on his left meniscus, but the club prefers to give him a little more rest. The player from Sallent will reappear after the break, which means Szczesny must return to the bench."We are very happy with his progress, but we will wait for his return after the break," Flick said about Joan. The outlook for Jules Koundé is less optimistic.

The Frenchman did not complete Saturday's training session, the last one before the visit to Celta this Sunday (21:00 CEST), after missing Friday's session at Spotify Camp Nou due to a knock sustained against Bruges. Although he started the work without problems, he had to leave for the locker room due to discomfort.

Regarding this, Flick stated that "Jules has not finished the session and I doubt he will be on the list, I don't think he will make it (to Balaídos). We will wait and see". Those who will be present against Celta are Andreas Christensen and Eric García, the latter with a protective mask after the nasal fracture suffered in the final minutes against Bruges.

Flick believes Celta is in better shape than Barça for LaLiga Matchday 12

Regarding the visit to Balaídos, Hansi Flick did not hesitate to be self-critical about Barcelona's current form. The Catalans are coming off a draw in the Champions League against Bruges (3-3) and have conceded 8 goals in their last 5 matches. Celta, on the other hand, arrives with renewed spirits after five consecutive victories in the League, Cup, and Europa League.

Therefore, the Barça coach does not hesitate to acknowledge his rival's good form on Sunday. "Right now, Celta is in good form. In a better situation than us. But it has to do with mentality, and we've talked about it. We want to win, we want to reach the break with three more points," commented the manager.

In turn, he reiterated that he expects to see greater sacrifice from all his players on the field, as well as the certainty of seeing a much more reliable version of the team when most of the injured players return after the break"In Bruges we got a point. And we are second in LaLiga. It's November, we have a long way to go. The players know they have to play better. When everyone is back, after two or three games, they will be better," Flick pointed out

"Last season was different, we played at another level. We've talked about the match against Bruges and they know what I want. I want to see it reflected on the pitch"