Barcelona dealt major injury concern hours before Alaves clash

Barcelona have been close to returning to full fitness across their squad, but a new concern has now emerged in the hours leading up to their La Liga clash against Alaves.

As reported by Sport, Frenkie de Jong is at risk of missing the match at the Spotify Camp Nou. The Dutch midfielder, who was suspended for last weekend’s homecoming match against Athletic Club, was absent from Saturday morning’s training session, which has cast doubt on his ability to face Alaves.

It is unclear at this stage what the issue is with de Jong, but given that he was not present at Barcelona’s training complex, it makes it very difficult for him to be involved against Alaves. This would certainly be a big blow for the Catalans, who will go top of La Liga if they avoid defeat at the Spotify Camp Nou.

De Jong issue comes as Pedri returns

Barcelona will have Pedri back against Alaves, although he will not be able to start. If it turns out that de Jong cannot feature, it would mean that Marc Casado and Eric Garcia would be likely to start in the centre of midfield, with Dani Olmo playing ahead of them. Marc Bernal is also an option, although Flick has been very cautious with his playing time in the aftermath of his return from 12 months out with an ACL injury.

Barcelona will hope that de Jong’s absence, if it is confirmed for the Alaves match, does not extend into Tuesday’s showdown clash against Atletico Madrid. They should have enough to see off their opponents without the services of a key player, but that fixture against Los Colchoneros is one that they will desperately need him to be available for, especially if Pedri is not fit enough to start in that one either.

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