Barcelona given nightmare injury diagnosis: Pedri set for spell on the sidelines | OneFootball

Barcelona have been given the piece of injury news they perhaps least wanted to receive. Key midfielder Pedri has been diagnosed with a muscle injury, forcing him into a spell on the sidelines.

The Blaugrana have been nursing a number of injuries this season, but Pedri was arguably the one holding things together, albeit with cracks, for Hansi Flick. After being stretched to the limit against Real Madrid, Pedri has broken down, and Diario AS report that he has a muscle injury in his left hamstring.

How long will Pedri be out for?

The diagnosis advises Pedri to stop for the coming three weeks, meaning he will miss a home tie against Elche, and trips to face Club Brugge in the Champions League and Celta Vigo before the international break. SER Catalunya say that his absence could be as long as four or five weeks. On the other side of the international break, Barcelona face Athletic Club and Chelsea, but that requires a linear progression and the shorter diagnosis for Pedri to be fit for them. Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Fermin Lopez and Dani Olmo have illustrated, that has been a rare case at Barcelona this season.

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If it is the longer of those periods out of action, five weeks, Pedri will miss the games against Athletic and Chelsea (A), as well as potentially Alaves and Atletico Madrid at home.

Injury concerns over Pedri

This Sunday will be the first game that Pedri has missed due to a muscle problem since July of 2024, after breaking down during Euro 2024’s quarter-finals against Germany. The 22-year-old had played the last 49 games in a row, and only missed one match last season due to a stomach bug for Barcelona.

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It is his first muscle injury since coming out the other side of a fraught series of injuries that kept him from playing at his best for two seasons, and will reignite concerns over the handling of his fitness.

Pedri will have time to recover

If there is the smallest of silver linings for Barcelona, it is that he should in theory miss just two games through the injury. He would have been suspended against Elche anyway, and the international break should allow him to recover fully without missing much action. Nevertheless, any extended absence for Pedri would be disastrous for Flick’s side, given how crucial he is to their midfield operations.