Barcelona continue to be haunted by injuries as they saw yet another player get injured in their latest match against Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday night.
Since the international break, the Blaugrana have seen the likes of Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Memphis Depay, Frenkie de Jong, Andreas Christensen, Hector Bellerin, Sergi Roberto and more recently Eric Garcia get injured.
And on Tuesday, it was Franck Kessie who picked up a hamstring injury in the 4-2 win over Viktoria Plzen in Barcelona’s final UEFA Champions League game of the season.
The Ivory Coast international had already suffered a minor knock last month and had managed a quick recovery. But, the latest injury is likely to keep him out of action for a prolonged period.
Indeed, according to Javi Miguel of AS, Kessie has suffered a tear in the biceps femoris of his left leg and could be sidelined for at least six weeks as a result.
It means that the 25-year-old will not feature in Barcelona’s remaining two fixtures against UD Almeria and CA Osasuna before the team breaks off for the FIFA World Cup.
The midfielder joins Araujo and Roberto as the long-term absentees and could return against RCD Espanyol in the last week of December.
Manager Xavi Hernandez spoke about Kessie’s injury in his post-match presser and admitted that the midfielder was ‘screwed’.
“He is screwed. I think he has hurt his hamstring. He was playing a good game in the midfield position, winning duels, and was good at the start,” he said.
It has been a difficult season so far Kessie. After arriving as a free agent in the summer, the former AC Milan star has found game-time hard to come by. And this injury setback will further impact his prospects at Barcelona.