Barcelona midfielder Marc Bernal played down injury fears after being taken on during Tuesday’s Champions League draw with Newcastle.
Bernal was in the starting XI again at St James’ Park but had to go off after 73 minutes and it appeared he might have picked up a problem.
However, Bernal was caught by reporters as he left the the ground and insisted he was fine. “All OK, just cramps,” he told Que T’hi Jugues after the game.
The news will be a relief to Hansi Flick who is once again struggling with
injuries. Eric Garcia became the latest player sidelined as he missed the game against Newcastle due to some minor discomfort.
Flick spoke about Bernal after the game about how fatigue is affecting his players currently.
“It was an intense match. Bernal and Araújo are coming off long periods without playing. We have to take it step by step; it’s not easy. They’ll improve. It’s not easy to play against this team. And I think we played well defensively. We have to keep improving because we have great potential,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot of previous matches, and injured players. Bernal and Pedri are coming off a period of inactivity. We need to improve, that’s clear, but the positive thing for us is the result. After being 1-0 down, it was fantastic to be able to come back and get a draw.”
