Barcelona's Squad Reset: Injuries and Departures Under Hansi Flick

Barcelona’s squad reset under Hansi Flick has taken a sharp, unforgiving twist.

What began as a calculated summer clean-up has been jolted by injury, individual training orders, and two young Spaniards now standing at the exit door.

Bardghji blow changes the mood

Roony Bardghji was supposed to be one of the moving pieces in this window. The Swedish winger, short on guaranteed minutes, had been lined up for either a loan or a permanent move to find regular football.

Then came training yesterday.

A serious knee injury, described as long-term, has halted his season before it really began. Any talk of development plans or next steps has been replaced by a far simpler concern: recovery. For a player at his age and stage, it is a brutal interruption.

The knock-on effect has been immediate.

Fort and Casado pushed to the margins

According to journalist Nil Sola on Carrusel Deportivo, Barcelona have now instructed Hector Fort and Marc Casado to train individually in the wake of Bardghji’s injury.

Both are expected to leave this summer. Both have been told, bluntly, to find new teams before the new season kicks off.

On Tuesday, while Flick’s main group continued pre-season work, Fort and Casado were separated from the squad, working alone. Club sources describe it as a precautionary measure, a way to avoid any unnecessary injury risk while their futures remain unresolved in the final stretch of the transfer window.

They have travelled, trained, and played under Flick in pre-season, but the message is clear: it has not been enough. Not enough to shift the hierarchy, not enough to carve out a guaranteed role.

For two players at a critical age, staying without a clear path to first-team minutes would be a gamble that makes little sense.

Fort: talent blocked by timing

Hector Fort’s case carries a hint of misfortune.

There is little debate about his quality. The right-back has shown composure and personality whenever he has been called upon, and his pre-season performances were solid, even encouraging at times.

But timing is everything at a club like Barcelona.

With Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia both seen as genuine right-back options, and prodigious youngster Xavi Espart already pushing from behind, Fort finds himself squeezed by depth and potential on both sides of him.

At many other clubs, his profile and performances would likely have earned him a spot in the first-team rotation. At Barça, “looking good” is often the starting point, not the finishing line. Here, being decent is not enough; the bar is unforgivingly high.

For Fort, a move could be less a step down and more a necessary step sideways to prove that his ceiling matches his talent.

Casado: from breakthrough to crossroads

Marc Casado’s story under Flick has been more turbulent.

His first season with the German on the touchline was impressive, a genuine breakthrough that suggested he could carve out a long-term role in a crowded midfield. The second season, though, told a different story. Disrupted, inconsistent, and ultimately disappointing.

The talent is still there. Nobody inside the club doubts that. But the reality of Barcelona’s midfield depth is brutal. With the current options already stacked and Rodri on his way in, the logic is hard to argue with: selling Casado, or at least moving him on, fits both sporting and financial sense.

For the player, a fresh environment with guaranteed minutes could be exactly what he needs. Regular football, a clear role, and space to make mistakes without the glare of Camp Nou expectations might unlock the version of Casado that Flick briefly enjoyed in that first season.

Critical weeks ahead

The next few weeks will define the immediate futures of both Fort and Casado.

Barcelona have drawn their line: train separately, avoid risk, and work on exits. Whether those exits arrive as loans or permanent deals, the direction is set.

What remains to be seen is how quickly their situations resolve, and whether they continue on the fringes, training alone, until the right move finally appears.