Barcelona confirm midfielder will miss 12 months of action after surgery | OneFootball

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick said that his third victory in charge of the club would have been happy, were it not for the injury of midfielder Marc Bernal. The 17-year-old came off in the final moments of their 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano after twisting his knee.

The worst fears were confirmed the following day, Bernal had torn his anterior cruciate ligament and damaged his meniscus, arguably the most feared of the ‘regular injuries’ in football. On Monday the Blaugrana confirmed that Bernal had had successful surgery on his knee, and would be out for 12 months in theory.

Bernal’s injury was a major blow to Barcelona and Flick. After a promising preseason, the German coach seemed to have earmarked him for a prominent role this season at the base of midfield, as evidenced by him starting all three games at the start of the year. Flick noted that Marc Casado and Eric Garcia were their main alternatives, highlighting just how thin the Blaugrana squad is this year.