Ansu Fati suffered a torn meniscus following a strong challenge during Barcelona's 5-2 win over Real Betis at the Camp Nou on Saturday evening.
The winger was knocked to the ground by Aissa Mandi which led to a penalty just before half time, and led to Ansu coming off at the break.
Tests have since revealed that the 18-year-old has torn his interior meniscus which could mean a lengthy layoff, with Dr. Ripoll of the Ripoll and De Prado Sport Clinic stating that it could mean up to five months on the sidelines.
"The injury to Ansu Fati has surprised all of us this Saturday evening. Barcelona have communicated an interior meniscus and we are talking about a player of just 18 years of age," he stated.
"It has to be stitched up and [the meniscus] has to be preserved as it is the shock absorber of the knee that protects the cartilage. Therefore the cartilage needs to be protected at all costs. And for that, the meniscus has to be stitched.
"We could be talking about a period [of absence] of between three and five months."
Such a lengthy layoff would be a massive blow to the Catalans given Ansu's importance to the team despite his youth.
Barcelona were plagued by offensive injuries last term, with Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez suffering lengthy spells on the sidelines, which caused the Catalans to make an emergency signing after the winter transfer window in the form of Martin Braithwaite.
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Fati is following Messi's path. When Messi's greatness first manifested, when everyone began to hail him, he had a nasty injury that kept him on the sidelines for a considerable long period. However, upon his return from injury, his performance got to a peak with consistency in everything he's done on the pitch. Watch out for the return of FATI, whose greatness we've only seen glimpses of. First World Best award awaits this kid! Fast recovery, Fati!