Following confirmation of Sergi Roberto’s muscle injury, which was first reported on Friday evening, Barcelona will now have seven players unavailable for Saturday evening’s clash with Villarreal – the 31-year-old joins Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Gavi, Marcos Alonso, Raphinha, Inigo Martinez and Alejandro Balde in currently being injured.
Injuries have been a big problem for Barcelona throughout this season. MD say that, on average, Xavi has been without four players per match over the course of the campaign so far. Even more strikingly, this number rises to six when only taking into account the Catalan club’s last 12 matches.
On only one occasion this season have Barcelona had no injury problems going into a competitive match, and that was their opening fixture against Getafe in August. Even on that occasion, Martinez was unavailable with a foot injury, but he hadn’t yet been registered after signing from Athletic Club, so this fact is taken into account.
It’s certainly been a struggle of late for Barcelona, and that has been reflected in their results and performances. There is some light at the end of the tunnel, as they are hoping to welcome back Ter Stegen, Raphinha and Martinez in the near future. However, they will be without Gavi and Balde (if he undergoes surgery) for the remainder of the season.