Pere Romeu's headache before debuting in the Champions League

Saint Joan DespíLaia Aleixandri, Renee Van Asten, Aitana Bonmatí, Kika Nazareth, Vicky López, Aïcha Camara and Carla Julià. These are the seven absences that Pere Romeu will have for the debut in the Champions League at the Johan Cruyff stadium against Paris FC this Wednesday (9:00 p.m., Disney+). The coach from Bonanova will have to juggle again to present a starting eleven with guarantees at the beginning of the path that must take Barça to the Warsaw final, scheduled for May 28, 29 or 30.

"We continue to have a very competitive team and we remain a benchmark. We have recruited well this summer and if you are at Barça, you compete for all titles," stated Pere Romeu in the pre-match press conference. Facing a short squad—with only 21 players registered for the first team—the coach will only have eleven outfield players and three goalkeepers available for this Wednesday, in addition to the players registered with the reserve team who are helping the first team. "Every year is a new opportunity for new players or those who were already on the team and had not had opportunities in big games. This season that stage will open up for them," he remarked.

The good news is the return of Irene Paredes, who has entered the squad list despite having only completed two training sessions with the group. The Basque centre-back, who suffered a muscle injury to her left soleus on September 12th, has shortened her recovery time and could reappear in the Champions League.

Kika and Vicky, the latest to fall

Kika Nazareth and Vicky López are the latest players that Pere Romeu has lost, even though both had minutes last Friday in the victory on the field of Alavés (0-6) and showed no symptoms of injury. The midfielder from Madrid was a starter, while the Portuguese footballer—who was wearing a bandage on her leg as a precaution—came on at halftime for Vicky, who was also seen with the same bandage days earlier against Atlético de Madrid. Both players did not take the field in the last session before the European duel and remained doing a gym session. Kika suffers from a myoaponeurotic injury of the right rectus femoris and will be out for three weeks, while Vicky has a myofibrillar injury of the right rectus femoris and will not be available for the next 15 days.

Regarding Laia Aleixandri, the Catalan central defender will not return until the end of 2026 (or the beginning of 2027) after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament tear in her right knee last February on the field of Real Madrid. Renee Van Asten, for her part, has a posterior myofascial injury of the right rectus femoris and her return is scheduled for the weekend of October 3rd or 4th, when the blaugranes will play at Camp Nou against Real Madrid.

Aitana continues her specific plan

In the case of Aitana Bonmatí, the player from Sant Pere de Ribes continues with a specific plan to clear up the discomfort in her left ankle. The 'blaugrana' has returned to training with the group, but will still have to wait to return to the playing field. "The idea is for her to continue with her recovery, but I am convinced that she will be back very soon," confessed Romeu.

The midfielder has not played since last May 31st, when she was substituted at halftime in the last league match played at the Madrid CFF stadium. Bonmatí suffered a transsyndesmotic fracture of her left fibula in December 2025, which kept her away from the pitch for five months. The player from Ribes reappeared in May against Bayern Munich and gradually gained minutes. This season, however, she has not yet played a single minute to fully recover.

The U-20 World Cup, an added problem

Finally, Aïcha Camara and Carla Julià remain focused with the Spanish U-20 national team, which plays the semifinals against Italy this Wednesday (15:00 hours). Whatever happens in the match, they will not return, at the earliest, until September 26. In case of victory, Spain will play the final on Sunday, September 27, while if they lose, they will play the third and fourth place match the day before. Apart from Camara and Julià, defenders Julia Torres and Noa Jiménez and midfielder Rosalía Domínguez, from the reserve team, have also been called up.

These absences condition the start of the season for Pere Romeu's Barça, which, despite this, counts its matches as victories. "Injuries take up our time so that they don't continue to happen, but it is elite sport and the risk of playing so many matches. There is a lot of communication between medical services, physical trainers and the coaching staff. I am an optimistic person who sees the day-to-day level and I don't want to enter into negative discourses, it is the message that I always convey to the team," concluded Romeu.

To cover the absences, the coach has called up six players from the reserve team: center-back Martina González, midfielders Carolina Ferrera and Laia Cabetas, and forwards Lúa Arufe, Nikoline Nielsen, and Kau Azraf. The one who is not called up is Mayssa Baha, since UEFA prevents players under 16 years of age at the end of the calendar year from playing in the Champions League. The 15-year-old Moroccan forward was defined by Ewa Pajor as "one of the future best number nines in the world".