Barcelona's Joan Garcia Ruled Out for Sevilla Clash
FC Barcelona boarded the plane to Seville without their first-choice goalkeeper. Joan Garcia missed the club’s final training session before Saturday’s La Liga clash with Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan and has been ruled out of the game, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
The setback stems from the Racing Santander match, where Garcia was withdrawn at half-time after feeling discomfort in his right knee. The problem is not regarded as serious, but with the season barely underway and Barcelona flying, the medical staff and Hansi Flick have chosen caution over risk.
Garcia now joins Frenkie de Jong and Roony Bardghji on the injury list. At this stage, those three are expected to be the only absentees for the trip to Andalusia, a relatively short list for such an intense early-season schedule.
Iker Rodriguez promoted again
Garcia’s absence opens the door for another opportunity. Flick has called up 18-year-old Iker Rodriguez from Barça Atletic to work with the senior squad and travel as the third goalkeeper.
The pecking order for Sevilla is clear: Wojciech Szczesny is set to start, Dominik Livakovic will provide experienced cover on the bench, and Rodriguez will complete the goalkeeping group.
This is not a token gesture. Rodriguez spent a large chunk of pre-season under Flick’s eye, training daily with the first team and leaving a strong impression inside the club. Since returning to Barça Atletic, he has started their first two league fixtures, keeping clean sheets against Naxara and Logrones B. Two games, two shut-outs – exactly the kind of form that makes a coach comfortable turning to youth for depth.
His inclusion for the trip to Seville gives Flick an extra layer of insurance in a position where Barcelona are suddenly a little lighter than planned.
Hamza Abdelkarim also continued to work with the first team in the latest session, maintaining his place in Flick’s extended group. Belgian winger Jesse Bisiwu, however, was absent. The teenage summer signing is still waiting for his first involvement in a senior matchday squad, and that wait looks set to stretch beyond this weekend.
Perfect start on the line in Seville
Barcelona arrive at the Sanchez-Pizjuan with a perfect league record and a target on their back. Six games, six wins, and a free-scoring attack that has been swamping opponents and setting the early pace in La Liga.
They sit alone at the top of the table, and they have not just been winning; they have been imposing themselves, especially in the final third. Flick’s side has carried a ruthless edge that Barcelona have not always shown in recent seasons.
Sevilla, though, are no soft touch. Fifth in the standings with four wins from six, they offer one of the sternest examinations yet of Barcelona’s early-season surge. The Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan can turn hostile in an instant, and the margins for error there are thin.
Garcia’s absence removes a pillar of stability at the back, but the structure around him remains intact. Szczesny steps into the spotlight, Livakovic waits behind him, and a teenager in Iker Rodriguez gets a front-row seat to one of the toughest away days in Spain.
Barcelona’s run is perfect so far. The question now is whether it survives 90 minutes in Seville, with a reshuffled goalkeeping unit and the international break looming on the other side.
