Barcelona, Sep 9 (IANS): Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has been named as the La Liga Coach of the Month for August for FC Barcelona’s perfect start to the season which has seen them sit at the top of the table with four wins from four games.
The Blaugranas won two games at home against Athletic Club (2-1) and Real Valladolid (7-0) as well as two away at Mestalla (2-1) and Vallecas (2-1).
Flick's spectacular La Liga debut won him his first Coach of the Month in the voting ahead of Marcelino Garcia Toral (Villarreal CF) and Luis Garcia Plaza (Deportivo Alaves).
Flick will be hoping to get back to the same form following the end of the ongoing international break. All available players took part in a training session at FC Barcelona on Monday, which also included Ansu Fati. The striker has been suffering from a foot injury since the end of July but now finds himself in the final stages of his recovery and took part in a section of the session with the rest of his teammates.
Barca will return to action after the international break with a Catalan derby against Girona on Sunday at the Montilivi stadium. The following week the Catalonian side begin their Champions League campaign with a trip to AS Monaco.
Barcelona, earlier on Monday, announced that Marc Bernal will be out for a year following an injury. The young midfielder started the game against Rayo Vallecano and in added time at the end of the second half he was involved in a passage of play that led him to end the game injured. Later, a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and an associated injury to the lateral meniscus was diagnosed.
A setback for the young midfielder who had started the first three league games for the team in the 2024/25 season.
"The player has undergone a successful surgical procedure on the injury to the anterior cruciate ligament and lateral meniscus in his left knee carried out by Dr. Joan Carles Monllau under the supervision of the club’s medical services at Barcelona Hospital. Recovery time is expected to be 12 months,” read the statement by Barca on their website.