Flick has three options in mind to replace Casado, who is out for the rest of the season.

Barcelona took a big step towards a possible La Liga title with a comeback win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday night. Their 4-2 victory was the first of any team in the Metropolitano this season, but it came at a heavy price, with Marc Casado injured. 

While Inigo Martinez suffered a knee problem, he could return after the international break, but Casado's injury is much more serious. The 21-year-old is likely to miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a torn knee ligament. 

According to Sport, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has three options to replace Casado between now and the end of the season. While Frenkie de Jong looks set to remain a starter, Eric Garcia is the leading candidate to take on the more defensive duties that Casado had been performing and he was the one who replaced Casado on Sunday evening. 

The second option is Gavi, who has yet to play any meaningful minutes in a deeper role this season but excelled under Xavi Hernandez last season. He is a more intense option than Eric in terms of pressure.  

The third option would be Andreas Christensen, who also operated in front of the defense several times under Xavi, but has yet to play since the second game of the season due to injury problems and seems unlikely to get big minutes in the final two months of the season. 

Read too Barcelona star suffers serious injury – likely to miss rest of season

Garcia is certainly the more defensive between him and Gavi, and yet the latter is probably closer to Casado in his skills and personality. /Telegraph/