Rival watch – Barcelona defender ruled out of El Clasico vs Real Madrid | OneFootball

The La Liga title race appears set to go down to the wire as Real Madrid trail leaders Barcelona by four points with five games left to be played.

With still an El Clasico left to be played (on 11 May) and Barcelona having to juggle domestic and European fixtures, the title race could swing either way, provided Real Madrid do not slip up in their upcoming game against Celta Vigo.

Boost for Real Madrid as Jules Kounde out of Clasico

With the Clasico ten days away, Real Madrid have received a boost as Barcelona have lost one of their most important players to injury.

Indeed, the Blaugrana, earlier today, confirmed that Jules Kounde has suffered a thigh injury during their UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg vs Inter Milan, which ended in a 3-3 draw.

Kounde out of El Clasico. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Building on that, AS reports that Kounde will be out of action for a period of three weeks effectively ruling him out of the Clasico against Real Madrid on 11 May.

This will come as a big blow for the Catalans and a boost for Real Madrid considering how important the 26-year-old defender is for Hansi Flick’s team.

It was Kounde who fired the last shot against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final last week, scoring the match-winning goal in extra time.

In all, he has played 53 games this season, scoring four goals and assisting eight more. In his absence, Flick could turn to one of Hector Fort, Eric Garcia, or Ronald Araujo to fill in at right-back for the Clasico in Montjuic in ten days.