Barcelona will be without the services of Eric García for their upcoming derby showdown with Espanyol, and beyond.
As much was confirmed by head coach Hansi Flick on Saturday afternoon.
Eric, for his part, has been sidelined since earlier this month, after being forced into a last-minute departure from the pre-match warm-up for Barcelona’s meeting with Sevilla.
The former Manchester City man has since missed Barca’s last three outings, against Sevilla, Bayern Munich, and arch rivals Real Madrid.
Hope had remained that he would return to fitness in time to feature against Espanyol on Sunday, after Eric was spotted back in group training earlier this week.
This, however, will not prove to be the case.
Speaking to the media in his pre-match press conference on Saturday afternoon, Hansi Flick was asked for the latest on Eric’s status.
And the German tactician went on to reveal that, not only will the versatile defender not feature this weekend, but he has been ruled out of the Blaugrana’s ensuing meetings with Red Star Belgrade and Real Sociedad, too.
“Eric García will be available for us after the international break,” Flick concluded.
Conor Laird – GSFN
