Photo: Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets lis on the floor in agony during the Copa del Rey semi-final against Villarreal. (Getty Images)
Barcelona’s victory over Villarreal to book their place in the Copa del Rey final has been marred by an ankle injury to midfielder Sergio Busquets. The 26 years old Spanish midfielder was substituted in the 40th minute after a clash with Tomas Pina. The television replays showed that Busquets came out of the challenge worse as he took a nasty blow on his ankle which left the La Masia graduate in pain.
The Blaugrana were 3-1 winners on the night thanks to a brace from Brazilian superstar Neymar but the injury to Busquets has left a bitter taste in their mouth. After the match the club released a statement on their website regarding the injury to the midfielder. It stated, ‘Sergio Busquets has a sprained right ankle syndesmosis. The player of FC Barcelona will undergo further tests on Thursday to know the exact extent of the injury, as reported by the Medical Services.’
The initial evaluation of the injury has left the club in fears that he could be out of action for at least a month. That means that he should miss the return leg of the Champions League Round of 16 tie against Manchester City and also El Clasico against arch-rivals Real Madrid. If the tests results show the expected bad news then it leaves Barcelona without their chief destroyer in midfield and in the case of Man City, a player with some height that could come into play from set pieces.
Manager Luis Enrique can take some comfort that he has Javier Mascherano to fill the void in midfield while deploying Jeremy Mathieu or Marc Bartra alongside Gerard Pique in defense. Despite these great alternatives, this is still a massive loss for Luis Enrique as they are about to enter the business-end of the season.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login