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Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski has been declared fit to return from a hamstring injury but is set to start on the bench in their Champions League semi-final second leg at Inter on Tuesday, the Barça manager, Hansi Flick, confirmed.
The 36-year-old Polish striker, who has scored 40 goals for Barcelona in all competitions this season, had been sidelined for his club’s last four games. After sustaining the injury during Barça’s 4-3 victory against Celta Vigo on 19 April, he missed their Copa del Rey final victory against Real Madrid and the first leg of the Champions League semi against Inter.
“We’ve spoke yesterday and everything is going the right way, and [Lewandowski] is good. Much better than we expected, and he’s ready for the bench. So when we need him, maybe he can come in,” Flick said on Monday.
Barcelona’s hopes of reaching their first Champions League final in a decade are buoyed up by Lewandowski’s return, especially after an exhilarating 3-3 draw in the first leg. However, the team will be without full-backs Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde, both sidelined with injuries. Flick did not reveal his plans to replace the injured duo, but he hinted at deploying centre-backs Ronald Araújo and Eric García or relying on youngsters Héctor Fort or Gerard Martín in their natural positions.
Koundé and Balde’s absence will pose a big challenge for Flick, with Barcelona struggling to stop Inter’s counterattacks in the first leg, mainly through Denzel Dumfries, who was a constant menace from the right, scoring two goals and claiming an assist.
“As a coaching staff, we analyse everything. We see how a player performed in each situation and maybe we will have to make some changes because we need to defend much better,” Flick said. “Football is really complex, so it has to do with everything. It has to do with the player but we have to find the right idea of how we want to play, the match plan. Of course, the changes have to be good, but also the players have to show on the pitch who they are and what they are made of.”
Barcelona are chasing a treble, unbeaten domestically since late December and leading La Liga by four points, ahead of Real. After Tuesday’s tie against Inter, they host Real in a crucial La Liga encounter that could effectively decide the title on Sunday.
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Meanwhile, the Inter manager, Simone Inzaghi, revealed that the availability of injured captain, Lautaro Martínez, and defender Benjamin Pavard remains uncertain. Martínez was forced off with what appeared to be a muscle injury in the first leg in Barcelona.
“We will decide on Lautaro and Pavard together with the medical staff and the players, they will have to tell me how they feel,” Inzaghi said. “On Sunday, Pavard participated in the first part of training and felt OK. Lautaro hasn’t trained since Barcelona, so we’ll see how it goes.”
