A 3-3 draw against Inter on Wednesday means that Barcelona have to win at the San Siro next week to reach the Champions League final, but they will need to achieve this without Jules Kounde, who suffered a hamstring injury in the first leg. The France international has played the most minutes out of anyone in Hansi Flick’s squad this season, which underlines how big a blow it is that he will miss out in Milan.
And the match against Inter will not be the only showdown clash that Kounde misses, as he is also expected to miss El Clasico in 10 days’ time. The expected lay-off for his injury is three weeks, so there is some good news for Barcelona in that he would return for a possible Champions League final against Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain.
Flick must now decide on a replacement for Kounde, and as per Sport, the player he will opt for is the man that came on in the first half against Inter: Eric Garcia.
Barcelona have Hector Fort as Kounde’s backup, while Ronald Araujo has also played right-back on occasion. But in the eyes of Flick, Eric is the ideal player for his system for the matches against Inter and Real Madrid.
Eric has predominantly played as a central defender or midfielder this season, but right-back is a position that he knows. He played there on several occasions whilst on loan at Girona during the 2023-24 campaign, and he also featured there when Barcelona played Benfica in the Champions League round of 16 back in March.
Flick trusts Eric to step up to the plate, and there is good reason for that. Despite having not featured too heavily this season, the 24-year-old has been very dependable, and he will need to be so again against Inter and Real Madrid.
