He’d be a big miss for Barcelona
Barcelona were able to put one hand on the trophy on Sunday afternoon as they beat Atlético Madrid 1-0 at the Camp Nou, thanks to a vintage Lionel Messi free-kick. This gives them an eight-point lead in the title race with Atléti in second; it would take an incredible collapse to let the league title slip now.
However, their celebrations were diluted by the injury picked up by their captain, Andrés Iniesta. The midfielder injured his hamstring during the game and had to be replaced by André Gomes. Iniesta could miss the return leg of Barça’s Champions League tie with Chelsea as a result, and he would be a huge miss.
[INJURY NEWS] @andresiniesta8 has a hamstring injury in his right leg. More tests are needed to find out the extent of the problem #BarçaAtleti pic.twitter.com/2rhv79AekT
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 4, 2018
Philippe Coutinho was signed with the idea that he would be the long-term heir to Iniesta’s throne but he will not be able to step in for this game, as he is ineligible, having already played for Liverpool in the competition this season.
Speaking after the game, Barça boss Ernesto Valverde lamented the loss of Iniesta, explaining that:
“He cannot be matched, like Messi. You cannot replace a unique player like him.”
Valverde is optimistic that the injury will not keep Iniesta sidelined for too long.
“We are going to wait to see the scan of the injury. It looked like a muscle tear, but we will hope that it is not so serious.”
This could see the Catalan giants line up with André Gomes and Paulinho in the ‘wide’ midfield positions against Chelsea at the Camp Nou, unless Valverde decides to bring Ousmane Dembélé back in, who has struggled with injuries this season.
