Knee Pain Could Delay Barcelona’s Getafe Goalkeeping Decision
Barcelona face a final goalkeeping selection question before Saturday’s meeting with Getafe, with Joan García back in group training but not yet certain to be available. MARCA reports that pain in his knee will determine whether he can return to the starting side, and the decision may not be clear until Friday’s final session or Saturday.
The phrase captures the late nature of the call: García’s own assessment of how his knee feels will inform whether Hansi Flick can select him. Barcelona’s wider squad and injury situation is being monitored ahead of the Getafe fixture, but in goal the key variable is whether García’s discomfort has eased.
García has been managing the problem since the match against Racing three weeks ago. The knee issue forced him off for the second half of that game and then kept him out of the following match against Sevilla, when Dominik Livaković played the full 90 minutes.
MARCA reports that García returned to training with the group on Wednesday and had trained normally over the following two days. He is described as much recovered and likely to be available, but that progress has not removed the uncertainty: the pain he feels and the evolution of the swelling in his knee still need to be assessed.
The report leaves open the possibility that Barcelona will not know whether he can play until Friday’s last training session, or even Saturday itself. That makes his condition, rather than a confirmed return date, the deciding factor for Flick’s choice in goal.
If García is not ready, Livaković is the expected replacement, having already started against Sevilla. The Croatian goalkeeper conceded 14 goals across four Nations League matches for his country during the break, a run MARCA noted, but the immediate selection question remains whether García’s knee allows him to return.
Barcelona will not need to make that call on the basis of training participation alone. García’s recent sessions are encouraging, yet the source’s account is clear that he must judge whether the pain has subsided enough for him to play. His earlier fitness issue and the goalkeeper’s status at Barcelona provide background, but neither changes the immediate test: how his knee responds before the Getafe match.
