Barcelona veteran could be out for two weeks, doubt for Manchester United clash

While Barcelona secured another crucial victory in La Liga when they beat Sevilla 3-0 on Sunday night, they were dealt with a blow as captain and midfield mainstay Sergio Busquets sustained an ankle injury.

The 34-year-old veteran started the game against Los Nervionenses but had to be taken off just five minutes into the contest after a coming-together with Youssef En-Nesyri ended in the latter planting his foot on Busquets’ ankle accidentally.

Manager Xavi Hernandez provided an update on Busquets’ condition after the game, saying that tests will be conducted later today to assess the extent of his injury.

“Tests will be performed on Busquets tomorrow. He twisted his ankle. I guess he has a sprain, we’ll see how severe it is,” he had said last night after the match.

Amidst this, Javi Miguel of AS is reporting that the Barcelona captain could be out of action for at least fifteen days following the initial assessment of his condition which suggested a grade-two ankle sprain.

It would mean that Busquets is a major doubt for the Blaugrana’s UEFA Europa League playoff first-leg tie against Manchester United, which is set to take place in under two weeks, on February 16.

Despite his advancing years, Busquets continues to be a vital part of the setup at Barcelona under Xavi. The 34-year-old had been in very good form of late as well, performing admirably with Frenkie de Jong as his partner in the centre of the park.

His injury comes as a bitter blow for Barça, especially at a time when important matches are coming up one after the other in all competitions.

With Ousmane Dembele already out of action for a significant time, losing another key player in Busquets will be far from ideal for Xavi and Barcelona.

A concrete update on his situation should emerge once the tests are carried out today. But as things stand, Busquets could be on the sidelines for at least two weeks.