Barcelona have confirmed the injury status of Eric Garcia and Jules Kounde β the news is good for the Blaugrana.
The starting central defenders against Valencia were both forced off with injuries during their 1-0 victory at Mestalla, meaning Barcelona finished the match with Marcos Alonso and Gerard Pique in central defence.
π ππππππ π₯ππ£π’π₯π§π¦
Tests carried out this morning concluded that:
Eric Garcia has an external obturator muscle strain in his left hip.
Jules Kounde has a biceps femoris muscle strain in his left thigh. pic.twitter.com/DBUkJsFgSd
β FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 30, 2022
Eric Garcia came off a few minutes before half-time and has been diagnosed with a hip strain. Kounde, who has just recovered from a hamstring issue that kept him out for several weeks, has a thigh strain too.
Although Barcelona did not give a recovery time, Mundo Deportivo do not expect them to be out for more than a week. The pair are likely to be rested for Barcelonaβs dead rubber against Viktoria Plzen in midweek and will be working to be fit for their La Liga fixture with Almeria next weekend.
The Blaugrana have struggled in the centre of defence more than in any other area this season and it has been shown at the highest level that they need their best defenders fit. In the Champions League, they have conceded 10 goals in their five games, while in La Liga, that number is just four in 12 matches.