FC Barcelona are currently marred with several injuries that are keeping their stars on the sidelines. Even though it is just the start of the 2023/24 season, Barcelona have already had to endure several key players being absent due to untimely and unfortunate injuries.
The likes of 20-year-old Barcelona star Pedri, Polish talisman Robert Lewandowski, Brazilian winger Raphinha, and Dutch maestro Frenkie De Jong are all currently unavailable for the Catalans. To make matters worse, it appears that Jules Kounde is also set to join them.
According to the official Barcelona medical update, Jules Kounde has suffered a sprain to his MCL (Medial Collateral Ligament) and is currently unavailable for selection as he undergoes his recovery. Consequently, he will also be missing fixtures for France due to this injury.
Normally, an MCL sprain takes anywhere from between 3 to 12 weeks to fully heal before players can resume play depending on its severity. However, according to the latest update provided by journalist Toni Juanmarti of SPORT, Kounde’s specific case will see him miss about 5 weeks of football.
This would mean that Jules Kounde is now out for El Clasico and will not feature for FC Barcelona against Real Madrid. He will also miss fixtures against the likes of Athletic Bilbao and Shakhtar Donetsk that come before the 28th October clash against Los Blancos.
Barcelona may find some respite in the form of the international break taking away close to two weeks that Kounde will not have to worry about missing club football during. For now, Barcelona does have to live with the fact that arguably their most in-form defender will now sit on the sidelines.
On the other hand, a recent report has stated that Barcelona could look to have a boost before the Clasico. Three key stars including Pedri, Raphinha, and Robert Lewandowski may just make it in time to feature for the Blaugranes against Real Madrid with the 20-year-old expected to return right after the international break.
