It seems that FC Barcelona are still set to face the consequences of the recent loss to Athletic Club. While their elimination from the Copa Del Ray was brutal, they suffered more than just the loss of a game. In fact, Barcelona ended up potentially losing some very key players.
Fortunately for La Blaugrana, it seems that most of those players are going to come away unscathed. As was recently reported, three key Barcelona defenders are going to possibly be available for selection against Villarreal in the upcoming La Liga game.
However, fortune is not handed out equally at times it seems. In fact, as highlighted by SPORT, a certain Barcelona defender could be set to undergo surgery for his recent muscular injury. That specific player is none other than 20-year-old fullback Alejandro Balde.
In the latest game against Athletic Club, the left-back suffered an injury in the opening 20 minutes of the game. Things got so bad, in fact, that he had to be replaced by Hector Fort at the same time.
Now, Barcelona is still choosing to wait before releasing an official injury report on the player. The reason behind this, as reported by SPORT, is due to the club still being uncertain about whether or not to go with surgery or to let him recover without surgical intervention.
The biceps femoris is the muscle group that is injured in Balde’s case, and the club is worried about the extent of the injury. In the event that he has to undergo surgery, he will likely miss close to four months of action for Barcelona. Moreover, this surgery could lead to him potentially even missing the Euros for Spain.
Without him, however, Barcelona will have to look at alternatives. Irrespective of whether Barça decide with Balde to go with surgical intervention or not, the youngster is still expected to be out for some time. For this reason, it is important that either Hector Fort or Joao Cancelo step up.