Three of Flick’s regulars came back from the September-October window the hardest-worked:

• Joao Cancelo: 305 minutes across four matches for Portugal, scoring against Denmark and Norway
• Anthony Gordon: three straight starts for England under Thomas Tuchel, with a goal in each, including the opener in a 7-0 win against Croatia
• Lamine Yamal: three straight starts for Spain, four goals and one assist, after head coach Luis de la Fuente insisted nobody would exceed 270 minutes across the four matches

Flick had expected Yamal to be managed carefully through Spain’s final matches of the window. De la Fuente kept the door open.

The German’s answer to the overload question was to push part of the responsibility back on his own players.

“Managing players and their playing time isn’t easy. I talk to all the players; they know whether they’re going to play or not. I have my plan, but I also place this responsibility on the players because they have to learn to manage themselves to play for the next two weeks,” Flick told reporters.

Read also: Italy’s captain told to sit tight as Manchester City’s FFP verdict rattles the dressing room

Raphinha ruled fit after thigh scare

Raphinha was the first starter home. He scored in Brazil’s 4-2 friendly win over Australia and left at the break with discomfort in his right thigh. An imaging test revealed slight muscle edema and ruled out a tear, with the Brazilian federation calling it a precautionary release so he could recover in time with Barcelona.

He is now a candidate to be rested on Saturday, with Gabriel Jesus or Hamza Abdelkarim in line to come in. Eric Garcia also returned to the club early after leaving the Spain camp with discomfort.

Five fixtures in 15 days

Kick-off against Getafe at Spotify Camp Nou is at 6:30pm local time on Saturday, and the Getafe game is only the first of five in 15 days.

Away trips to Real Betis in La Liga and Galatasaray in the Champions League follow, with PSG at the Parc des Princes also on the list before the Clasico against Real Madrid on 25 October.

Read also: Nigeria weighs compensation claim against Infantino’s FIFA

Flick has signalled heavy rotation. Jesus, Abdelkarim and Brian Farinas, each of whom is still waiting for a first start this season, are in line for minutes, with Alejandro Balde and Gavi also fresher than most after limited international action.

Read also: Man City launch appeal – but old UEFA statement could come back to haunt them