Barcelona came through the international break with two of Hansi Flick’s starters back in Catalonia for medical tests, and the manager has no complaint about how they got there.
Raphinha asked Brazil’s staff to withdraw him at half-time against Australia on 29 September after his right thigh tightened. Eric García stepped out of Spain’s warm-up before the Wembley meeting with England on 27 September when his left knee stiffened. The scans came back clean for Raphinha, and both players have rejoined training in time for Sunday’s visit from Getafe.
The absence of panic is the point. Flick spent the 2024-25 season watching Jules Koundé, Alejandro Baldé, Ferran Torres, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha himself cycle through the medical room, often more than once. His rule now is simpler than any slogan: speak up when something feels wrong, stop before an irritation becomes a muscle tear, and accept that a weekend out is better than six weeks on the treatment table.
Pedri, who lost long stretches of last season to injury before helping Barcelona lift the La Liga title, has credited the German coach with rewiring how the dressing room thinks.
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The midfielder said Flick had “brought us a winning and competitive mentality” and changed what the club expected of itself.
Getafe to Real Madrid in fourteen days
The method now faces its hardest audit. Barcelona play five fixtures inside fourteen days, starting with Getafe at Camp Nou on Sunday. Galatasaray away in the Champions League follows in midweek, then Real Betis away, Paris Saint-Germain away in the Champions League, and Real Madrid at Camp Nou on Sunday 25 October.
Three away trips, two Champions League nights, one Clasico. Flick is expected to rotate heavily through the stretch, with the meeting against Real Madrid treated as the fixed point and the four preceding matches managed around squad load.
Kick-off against Getafe is at Camp Nou on Sunday.
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