Barca lose Inigo Martinez to injury for next five weeks – all 9 games he‘ll miss

Barcelona secured a huge 5-2 victory over rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercup final on Sunday night, giving them not only a title but a morale-boosting win after a difficult start to the year. It did not come without cost though.

Not only will they lose Wojciech Szczesny to suspension for the next Copa del Rey match against Real Betis, but Hansi Flick will also be without Inigo Martinez for the next five weeks. Sport report that he will be out of action with a hamstring tear, suffered in the first half that forced him off, and Martinez was replaced by Ronald Araujo.

It leaves Flick without one of his regular starters for a busy period in the calendar. In total, Martinez is set to miss nine games if the time of recovery is accurate: Real Betis in the Copa del Rey (H), Getafe (A), Benfica (A), Valencia (H), Atalanta (H), Alaves (H), Sevilla (A), Rayo Vallecano (H) and Las Palmas (A). He would also miss the Copa del Rey quarter-finals if Barcelona make it past Real Betis in the Copa.

Araujo was excellent after coming on for Martinez, but with the Uruguayan potentially leaving the club during the transfer window, that could leave Flick somewhat short-handed. Currently Sergi Dominguez or Eric Garcia could come in for the Basque defender as alternatives to Araujo, while Andreas Christensen is also expected back from injury soon.