Barcelona have confirmed that tests were carried out to know the intensity of injuries sustained by Eric Garcia and Jules Kounde against Valencia.
In a statement, the team has mentioned that while the former ‘has an overload on the external obturator of his left hip,’ the latter ‘has an overload in the biceps femoris of the left thigh’.
Garcia and Kounde started alongside each other against Valencia and Xavi was forced to make his first substitution in the first half itself. The former Man City defender got into a challenge against Justin Kluivert and appeared to have hurt himself after landing awkwardly.
The 21-year-old was eventually replaced by Marcos Alonso, who was booked just three minutes after coming onto the field.
Barcelona’s fifth and final substitution came in the form of Gerard Pique. The veteran defender, who came on in the 74th minute, replaced Jules Kounde. The French defender requested the change himself after noticing discomfort in the left rear thigh area.
Meanwhile, although there is no return date mentioned in the duo’s comeback, the injuries have occurred at a very bad time for the team as they are already without the likes of Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen.
But as reported before, there is not much to worry about the intensity of the issues as the duo is expected to be back in time to face Almeria next weekend. This probably means the defenders will only miss the away UEFA Champions League tie against Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday, November 1.
And since Barcelona are already assured of the UEFA Europa League spot, Xavi might want to give his key players some rest, meaning that makeshift defender Marcos Alonso could be utilized in the centre-back role.
Lastly, with the FIFA World Cup right around the corner, the players, themselves, would want a quick recovery in the first place.