OFFICIAL: Kounde & Araujo have both sustained injuries while away on international duty
Barcelona:
Tests on Saturday morning have confirmed that Jules Kounde has a biceps femoris injury in his left hamstring. As a result he is unavailable for selection until he recovers.
Test were also conducted on Ronald Araujo and he has an avulsion fracture of the adductor longus tendon in his right thigh. He too is going to be out of action until the injury heals.
Both of these injuries were sustained during the international break, the Frenchman in a UEFA Nations League game with Austria and the Uruguayan in a friendly against Iran. Kunde has played five games for Barça this season, giving assists in both La Liga and the Champions League. Meanwhile, Araujo has been involved in seven games so far in 2022/23.
Memphis Depay and Frenkie de Jong both came off with injuries in the Netherlands 2-0 win over Poland, however their issues appear to be less serious.
On Saturday Barcelona announced the diagnoses of the injuries of Jules Kounde and Ronald Araujo. The former has a muscle tear in his thigh and is expected to be out for 4-5 weeks.
The Uruguayan’s injury is less clear. He has an avulsion in his right adductor tendon, caused by stress or fatigue as per Mundo Deportivo. The time out predicted from Araujo has been put at anywhere between a week and two months, although most put it at between two and four weeks.
This could not have come at a worse time for Xavi Hernandez. Barcelona have a tough fixture list in the month of October; Mallorca (A), Inter (A), Celta Vigo (H), Inter (H), Real Madrid (A), Villarreal (H), Athletic Club (H), Bayern Munich (H) and finally, Valencia (A).
It looks as if Gerard Pique, Andreas Christensen and Eric Garcia will be forced to share the load during those matches.