Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said on Friday he would ask his players if they could win without injured teenage winger Lamine Yamal. The 17-year-old will miss Saturday’s La Liga match against Celta Vigo due to an ankle problem.
Table-toppers Barcelona have failed to win the two games he has not started this season. Yamal was on the bench when Barcelona were beaten 4-2 by Osasuna in September and missed the 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad before the international break.
The Catalan giants have won the other 11 league matches they have played during a promising start to the campaign under the German coach.
Asked if his side could win without Spain star Yamal, who has become a key part of Barcelona’s attack, Flick said he would ask the team that question.
“I will ask the team this tomorrow, I think it’s a good question for them,” he told a news conference. “Lamine is very important to us, but we have to adapt to this – we have players who can play instead of him.
“Lamine cannot play tomorrow, we will see when he comes back. It is important for us that he (returns) to 100 percent.”
After using Fermin Lopez on the right flank to limited effect at Real Sociedad, Flick would not rule out a potential replacement for Yamal. “It could be Rafinha, it could be Dani (Olmo), Fermin, Pablo (Tore) or Pau (Victor), we have different options,” the coach said.
Flick also said Gavi is fit enough to start after a long injury layoff and a few substitute appearances to return to fitness. The coach was also pleased with the recent praise his team received from former Barcelona great Lionel Messi.
Inter Miami forward Messi, Barcelona’s best ever player, said he felt “very proud” of the club’s performance this season and that the current squad was “fantastic”.
“It is an honour that Barca’s best player in history, he is playing for the team,” he said. is, and he follows the team, how it is playing and how the young players are playing. “He has always been very close to this club and that means a lot to us and the whole team,” Flick said.