Official: Barcelona captain out with muscle injury; will miss Real Madrid clash

Just as Barcelona welcomed Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde back in group training earlier today, they have been dealt with a fresh injury setback.

Indeed, as confirmed by the club via an official statement, captan Sergi Roberto has sustained a muscle injury today and is out until he recovers.

“First team player Sergi Roberto has a soleus muscle injury in his right leg and will be unable to play until the problem goes away,” the statement read.

This development comes as an unsavoury bit of news for Barcelona as they prepare for a tricky run of fixtures after the international break.

Ruled out against Real Madrid

Building on the announcement, Toni Juanmarti of SPORT is now reporting that Sergi Roberto will miss Sunday’s La Liga clash against Athletic Club.

Furthermore, the report states that he will be out for 2-3 weeks, effectively ruling him out of the matches against Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Madrid next week.

Given how Joao Cancelo has been playing relentlessly for club and country and Jules Kounde is injured, Roberto, who may be playing his last season at Barcelona, could have had minutes either against Athletic or Shakhtar.

While not a significant loss, Roberto’s injury still comes as a blow for Barça.