Barcelona have managed to overcome UD Las Palmas in their opening game of 2024. Despite it being from an ideal performance, the Catalan giants will be satisfied with just the victory for now. Moreover, the win ensures that Barça do not fall 10 points behind either Real Madrid or Girona.
Ultimately, a 2-1 scoreline perfectly captures the game that was on display. A rather weak first half performance from Barcelona turned into a much better one in the second half. However, the victory did not come without a great cost at the end of the day.
Within the first 10 minutes of the game, Barcelona fullback Joao Cancelo had to be substituted. The Portuguese star got injured following a collision in the Las Palmas box, and went down visibly in pain. The contact came after his shot was blocked in an awkward position, leaving his leg twisted.
Now, as per the latest update from Mundo Deportivo, certain details have been provided. Primarily, it is understood that the Portuguese star on loan from Manchester City suffers from a sprain. While the exact confirmation will not be given until the medical staff of Barça examines the injury, the current understanding is that he has indeed suffered a sprain.
Furthermore, MD suggests that from the initial looks of it, the implications could be dire. At least, dire enough to see the Portuguese star miss the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia. This comes as a great loss to Barcelona, who would have wanted to count on their star fullback.
With Cancelo now injured, Barcelona and those interested will first wait for the more detailed examination reports. In the meantime, Xavi will need to assess his possible alternatives for the player. Against Las Palmas, it ended up being Jules Kounde who switched over to the right-back position.
In the event that Xavi repeats the same strategy moving forward, it would be a more defensively-abled backline. With Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, and Andreas Christensen starting, Barça will only have Alejandro Balde as a more offensive fullback.
There is also the aspect of Inigo Martinez coming back for the next game. The Spaniard’s introduction should provide additional options that could be useful for Barcelona as well. Ultimately, Xavi has a massive dilemma to now solve and take care of.