Even at this early stage of the new season, Hansi Flick has had to contend with injury problems to some of his important players as he saw the defender Alejandro Balde suffer a physical problem in Wednesday’s training session that will keep the Barcelona fullback out for 3-4 weeks.
There is no doubt that this is quite a blow for the Catalan team, but one player for whom this can turn out to be an opportunity is Gerard Martin.
As SPORT has noted, Martin is set to replace the injured Balde at the left-back position, as happened in the last stretch of the last season when Balde also suffered a hamstring problem.
There is no doubt that Martin has come a long way in the last year, and has impressed both the fans and the coach with his perseverance and improvement.
For instance, even in the games where he made some costly errors, like the UCL semi-final tie against Inter Milan, he also made some useful contributions, like his assist in the second leg.
These experiences are expected to have made him an even better footballer this season, and he will have the opportunity to remain a starter for some games after the international break.
Jofre Torrents could have been another option for Hansi Flick for this position, but despite his offensive excellence, he has shown that he can be prone to unforced errors. Still, he is expected to get minutes as the Barcelona coach will have to manage Gerard Martin’s game time during this stretch as well.
