Hansi Flick has revealed that Barcelona are having to be careful with Jules Kounde in the final weeks of the season.
Kounde didn’t train on Friday ahead of Barca’s final game against Valencia and also sat out El Clasico recently.
Flick was asked about the situation with the defender and offered an update.
“He will play in the World Cup and now he has some problems, so we are careful with him,” he told reporters.
“For everyone it is a great goal to play in the World Cup and he has not trained for that.
We take care of it and handle it well; he does treatment and works on it. He’s evolving well.”
Kounde may well get a breather for the trip to Valencia on Saturday as Flick has other options such as Eric Garcia, Ronald Araujo and young Xavi Espart.
The defender has already been named in Didier Deschamps’ France squad for World Cup 2026.
