Barcelona academy gem suffered his injury vs Athletic, played with discomfort against Chelsea | OneFootball

FC Barcelona confirmed earlier today that Fermin Lopez had sustained a muscle injury that will rule him out of action for around two weeks.

The 22-year-old La Masia graduate had been a permanent fixture in the starting lineup for Hansi Flick in recent weeks and was even nominated for the La Liga U23 Player of the Month for November, given his performances.

As such, Fermin’s absence will come as a blow to Barcelona for the next couple of weeks, when they face a challenging run of fixtures.

Fermin picked up injury vs Athletic Club

Now, according to SPORT, Fermin’s physical problem originated in Barcelona’s La Liga game against Athletic Club last weekend.

It came specifically from Oihan Sancet’s very harsh tackle, a play in which the Athletic midfielder caught Fermin on his leg, forcing him to remain on the ground for a long moment and showing clear signs of pain. Sancet was sent off for the challenge.

Having picked up the problem over the weekend, Fermin opted to play against Chelsea this week at Stamford Bridge while carrying the discomfort, the report states.

Fermin sustained his injury against Athletic Club. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Now, though, Barcelona have decided to give him a two-week rest so that he can fully overcome any lingering discomfort.

In fact, the report states that although the club has officially labelled it an injury, they emphasise that it is mainly a precautionary measure, made possible by the return of midfielders such as Frenkie de Jong and Pedri.

Moreover, Hansi Flick has Dani Olmo as a direct replacement, while the manager has not been hesitant in handing teenage gem Dro chances either.

As such, Fermin will now miss two weeks of action, ruling him out of matches against Alaves (Saturday), Atletico Madrid (2 December), Real Betis (6 December) and Eintracht Frankfurt (9 December).

The hope is that he recovers in time to face Osasuna in the team’s penultimate match before the Christmas break.