News highlights:
- The duo of De Jong and Roberto will miss Sevilla clash through injury
- Satien prefers to lose De Jong for a game than four
Frenkie de Jong and Sergi Roberto are both out of Barcelona’s clash with Sevilla on Friday due to injury.
The duo sat out the group session on Thursday morning and did “specific work.” Barcelona later confirmed they are not part of the squad.
De Jong has a calf strain and Roberto has a fractured rib. The club have not stated how long they expect the duo to be out of action for.
The latest development means that, coach Quique Setién won’t have at his disposal Ousmane Dembélé, injured, Samuel Umtiti, suspended, as well as Frenkie de Jong, who has a calf strain, and Sergi Roberto, with a rib fracture. The latter two missed Thursday morning’s training session and haven’t made the 23-man squad list to ravel to Andalusia.
This is what Setién has said in today’s pre-match press conference on such circumstances, and much more:
“I would rather lose Frenkie for one game than four”
“De Jong is a great player who gives us many things but we do have players to replace him. I hope he recovers soon”
“We have seen the surprises that football brings. We need to focus on overcoming each match and maintaining the advantage”
“It’s possible that we will gain an advantage in Seville without the fans there. We will have to see how the game goes”
“Sevilla are a solid and physical side. But we do know their weaknesses and will try to exploit them”
“Players such as Leo Messi are smart enough to decide when they need rest. They will warn me if they feel the need to be rotated out of the line-up. However, I will set the guidelines for when they play”
Barcelona will be looking to maintain their 100% record since the restart when Sevilla comes to town on Friday.
Zealadmol.sport.blog. 