A near perfect Sunday evening in Barcelona was sullied by the concerning sight of Fermín López requiring medical assistence.
The Catalan giants eased their way to a 3–0 victory over Getafe to extend their unbeaten start to the new campaign. Ferran Torres nabbed a brace and even the potential headache sparked by Marcus Rashford’s disciplinary issues was smoothed over as the tardy England international created Dani Olmo’s game-sealing goal after coming off the bench.
Fermín was introduced midway through the second half himself, quickly picking up the dialled-down tempo of a contest which had long since been decided. The in-form Spaniard didn’t follow up last weekend’s brace with a goal, although went close with an audacious effort from a desperately acute angle.
The confidence rippling through a player who had defiantly rebuffed Chelsea’s advances over the summer to stay and fight for his place at the club he grew up supporting was soon quashed. As the full time whistle sounded, Barcelona’s medical staff found Fermín prone on the turf, clutching his groin and left leg. The 22-year-old was able to walk off the pitch—where he got a conciliatory hug from Hansi Flick—but carried a pronounced limp as he climbed on to Barcelona’s team bus.
“We’ll have to see what Fermín does tomorrow,” Flick warned postgame. “We’ll have to wait.
“It’s very important to have all the players in that condition because we have a lot of matches. Rashford, Ferran... it’s important that everyone is well.”
Unfortunately for Flick, Fermín was soon diagnosed with a muscle injury which Baecelona expect to keep him sidelined for three weeks.
“The player Fermín López has an iliopsoas muscle injury in his left leg,” a statement read. “He will be out of action for around three weeks. The midfielder came on the second half of Sunday’s 3–0 win over Getafe and was injured in the very last seconds of the game at the Estadi Johan Cruyff.”
The Catalans must now travel to Asturias for their first meeting with Real Oviedo in more than 24 years without Fermín. The last time the pair clashed in 2001, the current team’s manager Veljko Paunović was on the pitch for a famous 1–0 win.
Barcelona host Real Sociedad the following Sunday—although the venue of that fixture is as uncertain as Fermín’s availability—before Flick’s side welcome the reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain to Montjuïc on Oct. 1.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Very Important’—Hansi Flick Reveals Barcelona Injury Scare.