Barcelona striker struggling with muscle discomfort since the World Cup

Robert Lewandowski in action against Girona | Imago

Barcelona striker struggling with muscle discomfort since the World Cup

Stephen Oladehinde 19:49 - 11.04.2023

Robert Lewandowski, who has a spine issue and had to play against Girona with a special belt, has reportedly been struggling with muscle discomfort.

The discomfort that Lewandowski was experiencing became apparent during the game against Girona, and the striker played just ten minutes in practice. He also had a back ailment against Real Madrid, which he allegedly developed during a contest with Eder Militao.

The 33 years old who has been an integral part of Xavi’s team has scored 17 LaLiga goals for Barcelona this season and is also the LaLiga top scorer.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ng/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Lewandowski not playing at full fitness

According to Catalunya Radio, it is believed that Robert Lewandowski's current issues are related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The forward sustained an injury during the prestigious competition and has been dealing with muscle pain ever since.

It was thought that the injury in question was a minor muscle tear. It's difficult to say whether Lewandowski's discomfort has had an impact on how he plays. The forward has suffered a significant decline as he has only scored four goals since the beginning of the year.

Barcelona has been eliminated from both cup tournaments as a result of Lewandowski's decline in form. The Polish striker failed to score during their 4-0 loss to Real Madrid in the Copa Del Rey semi-final last week, and he has since picked up an injury.

Dembele’s absence also have effect

Since the injury to Ousmane Dembele, Lewandowski’s performances have been affected and his performance dropped.

The former Bayern Munich star is still the league's leading scorer with 17 goals, and he has been instrumental in helping Barcelona establish a commanding advantage over their rivals at the top of the standings.

Lewandowski's season is now in the balance, and Barcelona will be hoping he scores 25 league goals by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski has expressed his desire to play alongside Lionel Messi, saying he wants the World Cup winner to return to Barcelona as he would like to play with him next season.