Barcelona have been hit by a wave of bad news ahead of their Champions League round of 16 second leg clash against Napoli, as Pedri and Frenkie de Jong both picked up seemingly serious injuries against Athletic Club.
Pedri has a hamstring injury and is expected to be out for anywhere between a month or two, while de Jong’s ankle injury will sideline him for at least a month.
This is terrible news for Barcelona, who did not come away from the first leg vs Napoli with a lead despite being head and shoulders the better side in that game.
And with Gavi also out for the season, Xavi will go into the second leg with just Ilkay Gundogan as his reliable midfield option, while Andreas Christensen is expected to operate as a pivot.
Barcelona could have the services of Ferran Torres readily available for the Napoli game, though, as Adria Albets reports that the club will not rush him for the Mallorca game on the weekend.
The Spaniard’s recovery has been going well so far, and the club intend to have him fully fit and ready to face Napoli. He could even be in contention to start with multiple players out injured.
The journalist adds that the final decision will be made in the next few training sessions, but as of now, Barcelona are presumably ready to keep him out vs Mallorca if it means a full recovery ahead of the Champions League tie.
Alejandro Balde and Marcos Alonso will also miss the Napoli game, with the former out for the rest of the season, while the latter is expected to make his return sometime this month.
Author : Udhav Arora
Publish date : 2024-03-05 11:45:16
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.The post Barcelona forward not expected to return vs Mallorca, want to recover him fully for Napoli clash first appeared on Soccer News.
Author : soccernews
Publish date : 2024-03-05 11:59:56
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.