Barcelona face unusual international break problem as Hansi Flick is left with just six first-team players

Barcelona have entered the first international break of the season in perfect form, but Hansi Flick has been left with a very different problem away from the pitch.

As such, the German coach will have just six first-team players available for training over the coming weeks after a huge international exodus and a growing injury list.

A whopping 16 Barcelona players are set to join their national teams, senior and youth included, making the club one of the most heavily affected sides during the break.

That leaves Flick with limited options to work with while the rest of his squad competes across international football.

Barcelona lose 16 players to international duty

Spain accounts for the biggest group, with nine Barcelona players receiving call-ups across the senior and Under-21 teams.

Seven have been selected for the senior side, namely, Rodri, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Pedri and Fermin Lopez. Meanwhile, Xavi Espart and Marc Bernal will represent the Under-21s.

Gavi has been left out of the senior squad, while Joan Garcia is unavailable for selection because of his right knee injury.

Furthermore, Karim Adeyemi has joined Germany, Anthony Gordon has been called up by England, while Jules Kounde and Joao Cancelo will represent France and Portugal, respectively.

Dominik Livakovic, who made his Barcelona debut against Sevilla, has also joined Croatia.

Raphinha faces the longest journey of all. The Brazil international is set to travel more than 30,000 kilometres for matches in Australia and India, raising concerns given that he has returned injured from his last two Brazil camps.

Flick left with just six players

The international departures would already create a difficult training situation, but Barcelona are also dealing with four players currently in the treatment room.

Frenkie de Jong, Roony Bardghji and Joan Garcia are unavailable, while Andreas Christensen has become the latest addition to the injury list.

Two reserve-team players, Hamza Abdelkarim and Jesse Bisiwu, are also away with their respective national teams.

As a result, Flick is currently left with only Wojciech Szczesny, Brian Farinas, Alejandro Balde, Gerard Martín, Gavi and Gabriel Jesus to work with.

That is an extraordinary situation for a Barcelona side that has started the campaign at full speed, winning every match and regularly doing so by convincing margins.

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