Barcelona suffer double injury blow ahead of Xavi’s debut as manager

Barcelona are expected to be without Ousmane Dembele and Pedri for Xavi Hernandez's first game in charge against local rivals Espanyol, according to SPORT.

Xavi was announced as the new Barcelona manager earlier this month following the sacking of Dutchman Ronald Koeman. The 41-year-old coach will now begin his Barcelona reign against city-rivals Espanyol in La Liga.

However, even before taking charge of his first game, Xavi has been hit by a double injury blow. Attacking duo Ousmane Dembele and Pedri are still recovering from their long-term injuries and are not fit to feature at the weekend.

🚨🚨[Lluis Miguelsanz-SPORT] | Pedri and Ousman Dembele won't be available for Xavi's first game as the Blaugrana coach in the Catalan derby. They could have minutes against Benfica. They already train with the group, but Barça don't want them to suffer another relapse. #FCBlive https://t.co/Pha295WV8O

Pedri hasn't featured for Barcelona since September of this year. A muscular injury has forced the 18-year-old attacking midfielder to sit out the majority of the season so far. As things stand, Pedri has made only four appearances for Barcelona this season and is yet to make a goal contribution.

According to the aforementioned source, Pedri has almost completed his road to recovery and should be back in the next few days. However, Xavi is not keen on rushing the 18-year-old starlet back into action.

Another player expected to miss Barcelona's next game is Frenchman Ousmane Dembele. The 24-year-old winger has made just one appearance for Barcelona this season and has been out due to a hamstring injury. Dembele is also extremely close to making a full recovery and could feature against SL Benfica in the Champions League mid-next week.

Xavi has a difficult job ahead of him as Barcelona manager

Xavi Hernandez has a difficult job ahead of him as Barcelona manager following the sacking of Ronald Koeman. The Catalan giants are currently ninth in the La Liga table, having picked up just 17 points from their first 12 games.

As things stand, Barcelona are 11 points behind league-leaders Real Sociedad, though they have played one game more than the Blaugrana.

Xavi will have to make do with the on-field troubles by also being held back by the off-field issues at the club. Barcelona are in the midst of a financial crisis which has resulted in the club being in extreme amounts of debt. The Catalan giants were forced to let Lionel Messi leave on a free transfer due to their financial woes.

It is unclear how much transfer budget will be offered to Xavi for his first transfer window as Barcelona manager.

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Tuesday morning workout ahead of Saturday's #BarçaEspanyol derby!

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