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Barcelona have been handed a fresh injury blow with news that midfielder Sergio Busquets suffered a knee injury while on Spain duty on Saturday night.
The midfielder asked to be substituted in the second half of the 1-1 draw with Switzerland in the Nations League. Spain have since confirmed via Twitter that he has suffered a knee injury and will now undergo an MRI scan in Seville.
Busquets now looks certain to miss Spain’s clash with Germany on Tuesday and will also be a doubt for Barcelona’s next few matches. The Catalan giants return to action on Saturday against Atletico Madrid.
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Busquets To Miss Three Weeks?
Barcelona will have to wait for the results of Busquets’s scan to confirm how long the midfielder will be out for but may have to do without the Spain international for a little while.
According to Javier Miguel at AS, the 32-year-old could be ruled out of action for up to three weeks. The midfielder is thought to have suffered a “grade one sprain” to the lateral collateral ligament in his left knee.
If Busquets were to be out for three weeks he would miss games against Atletico, Osasuna, and Cadiz in La Liga, as well as Champions League, matches against Dynamo Kiev, Ferencvaros, and possibly the final group match against Juventus too.
Summer signing Miralem Pjanic is the most likely player to come in and replace Busquets in the starting XI, while Carles Alena is also an option to partner Frenkie de Jong in midfield.
Injuries Piling Up For Barca
Busquets is the latest Barcelona player to pick up an injury and joins Ansu Fati, Samuel Umtiti, Ronald Araujo, and Philippe Coutinho on the injured list. Barca could have Coutinho back for Atletico as the Brazilian is back in training.
The injuries mean Koeman has plenty to think about ahead of what is a crunch game against Atletico. Diego Simeone’s side are already six points ahead of Barca in La Liga, and the Catalan giants can’t afford to lose much more ground to the Rojiblancos.
Fati’s injury means Koeman will have to make changes to his attack for the trip to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, while the defensive injuries also leave the Dutchman short of options at the back.
He may also need to make changes in midfield if Busquets is ruled out. The Spaniard has not been at his best so far in 2020-21 but has still started all seven of Barca’s league games this season.
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