Barcelona revelation Dani Olmo will miss an extended period of time after picking up an injury in the side’s win over Girona. Olmo, who scored in each of the three games he has played in with Barcelona, scored Barcelona’s third goal of the game. The Spaniard scored just two minutes into the second half. However, he would require a substitution at the hour mark.
Barcelona diagnosed the issue as a hamstring injury. Although not specifying the severity of the injury, the club also announced that Dani Olmo will miss between four and five weeks. Therefore, he will be unavailable for selection by Hansi Flick when Barcelona begins its UEFA Champions League campaign this week. Likewise, he will miss several LaLiga games. As of his injury, Barcelona is atop the Spanish top flight with five wins through five games.
The injury is particularly concerning given Olmo’s history. The Spanish star has dealt with hamstring injuries in the past going back to his time with RB Leipzig. Although not full tears of the muscle, Olmo missed over 20 games with Leipzig because of lingering issues. Those appear to have resurfaced for Olmo at a critical time for Barcelona. Despite the strong start in LaLiga, Hansi Flick has bigger goals than defeating smaller teams in Spain. Olmo will be critical to lifting trophies in his inaugural season with Barcelona.
Therefore, it will be crucial to have Olmo back and available for fixtures in late August. Barcelona has a home game against Bayern Munich in matchday three of the UEFA Champions League. Then, four days later, the Catalan side travels to the Spanish capital to play Real Madrid. Those two games, although early in the season, may be pivotal to Barcelona’s chances of success in those competitions.
Many of Barcelona’s moves in the transfer market in the last five years and more have been questionable. Lack of form and consistency have plagued big-money transfers. Dani Olmo, at least through three games, appeared to break that trend. Immediately upon making his debut off the bench against Rayo Vallecano, Olmo scored the game-winning goal. Making an impetus to lead Barcelona, Olmo has been masterful in the midfield.
Olmo provided experience to take the pressure off some of the younger midfielders in the Barcelona ranks. Fermin Lopez would be the closest replacement to Olmo, but Olmo plays a slightly different position. Ferran Torres has been relegated to the bench, and he would be a natural substitute by pushing Raphinha into the middle. Torres’s red card against Girona will lead to a suspension, which complicates things for Hansi Flick.
The upcoming stretch of games for Barcelona, outside of the lingering Bayern and Real Madrid clashes down the road, should not be overly challenging. Granted, fans have only seen Barcelona exercise such comfortable form because of Dani Olmo’s presence in the midfield. This is the first of what is likely to be many challenges for Hansi Flick this season.
PHOTOS: IMAGO.
