Barcelona are already reportedly running the risk of being without Samuel Umtiti for four months, now they’ve been dealt another injury blow in the same position.
As reported by Mundo Deportivo, the Frenchman is expected to continue to receive treatment on his knee injury in the coming weeks.
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However, should it be decided that he isn’t making sufficient progress, it’s suggested that he could undergo surgery which may rule him out of action for up to four months.
That in itself is a major blow for coach Ernesto Valverde given the World Cup winner’s importance to the team in the heart of the defence.
Nevertheless, it could be set to get worse for the Catalan giants, as Mundo Deportivo now report on Thomas Vermaelen suffering a possible hamstring injury in Belgium’s encounter with Switzerland on Friday night.
It’s suggested that if the injury is as bad as being feared, that could keep the stalwart out for weeks at least, and so it could present a real problem to Valverde moving forward.
That leaves the Barcelona coach with Gerard Pique and summer signing Clement Lenglet as his only natural options at centre-half, and so he’ll be praying that those two steer clear of injury setbacks.
It arguably couldn’t have come at a worse time either, with Barca taking on league leaders Sevilla, Inter and rivals Real Madrid in the space of a week after the international break.
While hoping that Pique and Lenglet can now stand firm against injury, the reigning La Liga champions have already conceded nine goals in just eight league games so far this season which gives them the worst defensive record of the top eight sides in the standings.
Losing two defensive options certainly won’t help them improve.