Barcelona concerned about the ‘FIFA Virus’ as international breaks comes to an end

The recent international break has caused some concern at Barcelona, especially regarding the fitness of several key players as the ‘FIFA Virus’ breaks out, reports SPORT. 

Although Hansi Flick and the club are relieved that no serious injuries have occurred, there is still some nervousness about two players who have been affected.

Every international window tends to bring fitness worries for Barcelona. When their players leave for national duty, the club often ends up dealing with injuries. 

During this break, nine Barcelona players were called up to their national teams, which is fewer than usual due to the injury crisis the team is currently facing. 

Injuries to Yamal and Lewandowski

Now that the international matches are over, Barça are left with concerns over two players ahead of their upcoming match against Sevilla. First, Lamine Yamal picked up a knock during Spain’s match against Denmark. 

Robert Lewandowski picked up a knock while playing for Poland. (Photo by Rafal Oleksiewicz/Getty Images)

He returned to Barcelona earlier than expected due to discomfort and is likely to be rested for the Sevilla game. This makes sense considering the demanding schedule ahead, with matches against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid just days apart.

The second worry is Robert Lewandowski. Although he started on the bench for Poland in their match against Croatia due to a minor injury, he came on in the 60th minute and suffered a tough tackle. 

While Lewandowski indicated that he was fine, his fitness for the Sevilla match remains in doubt.

What about the rest?

Meanwhile, Jules Kounde played the full 90 minutes in both of France’s games against Israel and Belgium, putting significant strain on him. He will return to Barcelona having clocked up a lot of minutes, which could be a concern.

Other players like Pablo Torre and Marc Casado featured for their respective U21 national teams, while Raphinha had an impressive outing with Brazil..

Finally, Hector Fort was involved with the U19 team, playing three matches, with two starts and one appearance as a substitute. With these fitness concerns, Flick will need to carefully manage his squad as they prepare for a critical run of fixtures.