Barcelona have wrapped up the La Liga title and crashed out of the Champions League this week, but they still have one major game this season.
The Catalan giants face Valencia in the Copa del Rey final on May 25, and particularly after the manner in which they exited in Europe having capitulated at Liverpool, they will be desperate to end the campaign on a high note with another piece of silverware.
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However, they may have to do so without Luis Suarez, as the club released a statement confirming that the Uruguayan stalwart will undergo knee surgery and that a recovery timeline won’t be provided until after the procedure is completed.
Albeit he wasn’t able to positively influence Barcelona’s clash with Liverpool on Tuesday night when his side needed him, the 32-year-old has still bagged 25 goals and 13 assists in 49 appearances this season.
With that in mind, if he is forced to now miss the end of the season, it will be a blow for coach Ernesto Valverde as he would have been desperate to have a fully fit squad at his disposal for the showdown with Valencia.
The reigning La Liga champions face Getafe and Eibar before that to end the domestic campaign, but having already secured that trophy, Valverde may well have rotated anyway to rest his key players to keep them fresh for the season finale.
However, he’ll now potentially be forced into a re-think, with an anxious wait to determine how long Suarez could be out for as the last thing that he’ll want is for the issue to adversely impact his summer where he is forced to spend time doing rehabilitation work rather than getting a full pre-season under his belt.
Having said that, it may not be that serious and he could yet make another appearance before the campaign draws to a close but given the need for surgery, it doesn’t sound particularly positive.
