International duty was not kind to LaLiga sides as several key players reported back to their teams nursing injuries that will affect their availability for the weekend and beyond.
Barcelona had arguably the worst of them with defender Ronald Araujo having surgery on his right thigh after suffering a tendon injury on Friday in Uruguay’s 1-0 defeat by Iran in a friendly, leaving the pitch after only five minutes.
However, Araujo was not the only problem in defence that Barcelona have to face after the international break. Jules Kounde suffered a hamstring injury with France and is expected to be out for around four weeks.
Furthermore, Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong, Ousmane Dembele and Pedri have also suffered minor setbacks in their fitness and their availability for the weekend is in question.
Barca are second in the standings on 16 points from six games, two behind Real Madrid whose midfielder Luka Modric was also hit by the international break injury bug.
Modric is expected to miss Real’s game against Osasuna at the Bernabeu on Sunday and next week’s Champions League home match with Shakhtar Donetsk but could be back for the trip to Getafe the following weekend.
Real’s Austrian defender David Alaba also came back with a muscle problem although it is not believed to be serious.
Getafe also have concerns over leading striker Enes Unal, who had to cut short his spell with Turkey due to a back injury. – Reuters
