It was a mixed bag of injury news for FC Barcelona on Friday. Well, some good news and some bad news, but the overall net may put them in a worse place then before. Star forward Raphinha is set to be sidelined for three weeks with a hamstring injury, while starting goalkeeper Joan García is going to be gone for up to six weeks due to an injured meniscus in his knee. With Marc-Andre ter Stegen already out, it becoming a full on injury crisis in between the sticks.
FC Barcelona vs Real Sociedad FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. March 2, 4:15pm, Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Barcelona Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
LL Position, Form: FC Barcelona 2nd, 15 pts WDWWW Real Sociedad 16th, 5 pts, DLLLW
Google Result Probability: FC Barcelona 76% Draw 15% Real Sociedad 9%
Barca Team News
On the flip side, both Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde participating in training today and should be available versus Real Sociedad on Sunday. However, the overall fitness situation remains pretty bleak, given the injury news that we got earlier this week.
We learned that Gavi is out for five months, after undergoing an arthroscopy to repair a medial meniscus. And on the same day, we also got notice that Fermin Lopez will be out for three weeks with an unspecified muscle injury.
So manager Hansi Flick will have some selection issues to contend with this week, most certainly.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter