An insight into the immediate efforts of Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernández to cover for the incoming absences of star midfield pair Pedri and Frenkie de Jong has this evening been provided.
Both Pedri, and De Jong, of course set alarm bells ringing across the Barcelona fanbase a little over 24 hours ago.
As much came upon the engine room duo limping out of the Blaugrana’s La Liga meeting with Athletic Club.
En route to an eventual goalless stalemate, Dutch international De Jong departed early on with an ankle problem, before youngster Pedri followed suit clutching his thigh on the stroke of the interval.
In an official statement released earlier today, Barcelona confirmed that both players, indeed, have suffered fresh injury problems:
The news could not come at a much worse time for Xavi and his staff, ahead of next week’s crunch Champions League Last-16 2nd leg meeting with Italian champions Napoli.
The likes of Fermín López, Sergi Roberto and Oriol Romeu could now be in line for increasingly prominent roles, amid an absolutely crucial stretch of the campaign.
Looking yet further down the line, though, with Gavi also sidelined long-term, Xavi looks set to be forced to dip back into the pool of upcoming talent at La Masia, for midfield cover.
And, on Monday, the Spanish tactician provided a first insight into those most likely to be made use of whilst Pedri and De Jong remain out of action.
As per a report from Mundo Deportivo, youth pair Pau Prim and Marc Casadó – who has been called up for senior duties on a whole host of occasions in the past – took their respective places in first-team training.
Conor Laird | GSFN
