Barcelona dealt blow as star man likely to miss Spanish Super Cup after picking up injury - Reports
Barcelona have been dealt another injury blow as full-back Joao Cancelo may be unavailable for their Spanish Super Cup semifinals against Osasuna on Thursday, January 11. The Manchester City loanee was taken off in the first half of Barca's recent La Liga win over Las Palmas.
The Blaugrana have been far from convincing this season. Their troubles were further compounded after Joao Cancelo pulled up with a knee injury in the 11th minute of the Las Palmas encounter. The Portugal international was replaced by Andreas Christensen for the remainder of the match.
Xavi downplayed the injury as a minor knee strain, but it is still unclear whether Cancelo will be fit in a week (via Barca Universal). The former Juventus man has been very useful for the Spanish champions, with three goals and two assists to his name in 22 appearances across competitions.
Cancelo will undergo comprehensive tests to ascertain the extent of his injury, and will, at the very least, not play against Barbastro in Copa Del Rey on Sunday, January 7. The versatile full-back will be a huge miss for La Blaugrana, who already have several injury problems at hand.
They will be without Pedri and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen as well as Marcos Alonso for the Super Cup.
Barcelona edge Las Palmas in La Liga return
Barcelona started slowly, but eventually proved too strong for Las Palmas away from home, claiming a 2-1 win. The home side took the lead via former Barcelona starlet Munir El-Haddadi in the first half.
Barcelona leveled matters through Ferran Torres only ten minutes into the second half. Ilkay Gundogan won and then converted a penalty in added time to hand his side all three points.
The win over Las Palmas puts Xavi's side seven points behind Girona and Real Madrid in third place in La Liga. They will turn their attention from league football with a Copa del Rey game next, followed by Super Cup action.