Barcelona received bad news right at the start of La Liga

17/08/2025 02:38:00 ceshi

Joan Garcia experienced a dramatic situation on his debut for Barcelona, suffering a finger injury just before kickoff in the La Liga opener against Real Mallorca.

Barcelona embarked on their title defense journey La Liga with an away match at Son Moix. Coach Hansi Flick fielded a significantly altered lineup, notably featuring Joan Garcia - the goalkeeper recruited from Espanyol earlier in the summer, who is expected to replace Marc-André ter Stegen and Wojciech Szczesny as the first-choice keeper. Importantly, Marcus Rashford - the loan signing from Manchester United also made his debut on the bench in La Liga.

However, just before the opening whistle, Joan Garcia encountered an unfortunate incident. During warm-ups, the 24-year-old goalkeeper dislocated his left finger. Images circulating on social media showed Barcelona's medical staff having to realign his finger and bandage it while he was in pain. Nevertheless, Garcia bravely took to the field from the start, determined to play despite the injury potentially limiting his performance.

Garcia appeared to have dislocated his finger before the match commenced

This situation sparked lively debate among fans. One account questioned on social media: “Why take the risk of having him play with a dislocated finger?”. In fact, goalkeepers often play through minor hand injuries, as long as they can move adequately and are securely bandaged.

During the match, Barcelona quickly gained an advantage. Raphinha scored the opening goal before Ferran Torres extended the lead to 2-0 just 23 minutes in. Flick’s team controlled the game, aiming for a first victory in their title defense journey, while also showing they would continue to be a major rival to Real Madrid in the championship race.

Garcia still took the field against Mallorca

Sporting director Deco reassured fans about Garcia's condition: “I spoke with the doctor, and he assured me that Joan Garcia is fine. They just bandaged his hand to ensure safety.” With this confirmation, Barca can be somewhat at ease that the injury is not severe, and Garcia can fully continue to play in the upcoming matches.

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