Ten Barcelona players suffered ‘physical dicomfort’ against Real Sociedad

Barcelona’s recent win over Real Sociedad offered more headache than joy for coach Xavi Hernandez.

The Spaniard, who has been extremely unlucky with injuries throughout his spell at Barcelona, will now have to deal with the prospect of ten players suffering “physical discomfort” after the midweek encounter against Real Sociedad, reports Toni Juanmarti.

The journalist has not disclosed the names of all the ten Barcelona players, but the ones in question certainly include the entire back-four.

Gerard Pique, for one, was seen limping off throughout the first half. It was a worrying sign for the doctors, who were very cautious with the veteran defender following his sustained injury against Eintracht Frankfurt earlier in the month.

Pique’s defensive partner Ronald Araujo also picked up a knee injury early on in the second half, prompting Xavi to replace him with Eric Garcia in the 55th minute.

That was not the end of Barça’s struggles as the experienced Dani Alves had to be subbed off as well, following a challenge from Rafinha. The right-back was taken off midway through the second half, with Sergino Dest replacing him.

The only Barcelona defender who was able to withstand the entirety of the game was Jordi Alba. But the left-back appeared to have picked up a muscular problem and there was evident discomfort.

In addition to Alba, Pique’s substitute Clement Lenglet also had to require medical assistance after falling on his head.

MARCA suggests even Gavi had picked up a slight discomfort, and as a consequence of so many injuries, the referee had to offer ten minutes of added time.

Having played 100 minutes of football, Juanmarti believes some of the players will be rested for the upcoming clash against Rayo Vallecano while others must work on their fitness if they are to get back to the pitch and help Barcelona in their quest to finish inside the top four.