(Reuters) -Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said he was being protective of Lamine Yamal when he remarked last month that the Spain team should take better care of players after the 18-year-old’s groin injury flared up again, sidelining him for two to three weeks.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente had responded to Flick’s comments on Friday, saying he had thought the Barcelona manager would have had more empathy for a colleague, given that Flick had once managed Germany.
Forward Yamal, who missed four matches last month due to the injury, will sit out Spain’s World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Bulgaria next week, and is a doubt for Barcelona’s Champions League match against Olympiacos.
“The situation was, after the last international break, when Lamine came back, he was like that. From my perspective, I want to protect my player. I want to support him,” Flick told reporters ahead of Sunday’s LaLiga clash at Sevilla.
“But it’s done now… I have no bad things about this situation. It happens in football, of course.
“I also know it from the other side. It’s also not easy for him, it’s not easy for me. But you also have to understand that I have to protect my player.”
YAMAL NEEDS THE “RIGHT MINUTES”, SAYS FLICK
Flick said he would not have started Yamal in Wednesday’s 2-1 Champions League loss to Paris St Germain if he had any doubts about the player’s fitness.
“I spoke with him today and it’s much better than before, but it’s not good,” Flick said about Yamal, who has scored two goals and provided four assists in four LaLiga appearances this season.
“Everyone knows the quality of Lamine, it’s huge. But it’s also my responsibility to give him the right load, the right minutes when he comes back… this injury is not so easy like the muscle injuries.”
Champions Barcelona top the LaLiga standings, one point ahead Real Madrid, whom they visit on October 26. Sevilla are nine points behind the leaders.
“We know Sevilla well, they play aggressively and intensely, they have their own style and a good fan base behind them. It will be difficult… we want to take the three points,” Flick said.
“Everyone is disappointed after the defeat (to PSG). We have to be smarter.”
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
