Eric García warned after the match: “I think I broke my nose.” The Martorell central defender received a serious blow in an aerial clash with Romeo Vermant in the Champions League match between Barcelona and Bruges this Wednesday. The Barça player was replaced in injury time and, at the end of the match, was transferred to the Bruges hospital to carry out an initial medical report. This morning he passed tests at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, and it was confirmed that Eric suffers from a “nasal fracture”, as reported by the Barça club. The defender will be fitted with a protective mask, “and his evolution will be assessed in view of the next match against Celta”. Last year, Pau Cubarsi played with easy protection after receiving a kick against Red Star in the Champions League and receiving several points.
If Eric was absent from Sunday’s match at Balaídos – a cumbersome stadium for the Blaugranas – it would be a new problem for Barcelona’s defence, which has already accumulated 16 goals in seven matches. “In the end they create a lot of danger for us on the counterattack, with two passes they put us in the area. I think the team reacted well, but when you’re behind it’s all a mess. I don’t think it’s just the defensive line, we all attack and we all defend,” Eric said after the match against Bruges on television with rights. And with a broken nose. Barça cannot afford to fall behind Real Madrid in the league, five points behind.
The Barça central defender is also one of Hansi Flick’s undisputed players this season, with 1,121 minutes played since the start of the season, and one of the players who has taken a step forward in leadership on the pitch and in the dressing room following the departure of Iñigo Martínez.
