There is a potentially significant blow for Barcelona ahead of the upcoming El Clasico clash against Real Madrid.
A report in Diario AS has outlined how Gerard Pique has not trained on Tuesday as El Mundo Deportivo said he would need to play through the pain barrier if he was to feature this weekend.
The former Spain central defender had always been anticipated to return to action following the current international break and had been on course to meet that timeframe, as El Mundo Deportivo reported last week that he had returned to training.
Pique has been plagued by knee injuries in recent months and suffered a fresh setback in the Copa del Rey semi final remontada victory over Sevilla but his prolonged absence has been notable in Barcelona news.
However, he is now once again feeling more pain in his right knee and it is claimed that his chances of featuring this weekend were becoming increasingly distant.
The central defender sustained a long-term knee injury in a loss at Atletico Madrid in November and his return to the fold in February was weeks, if not months, ahead of the date originally anticipated.
The former Spain international had suffered from a grade 3 sprain to the medial lateral ligament and a partial injury to the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the original injury.
It is added in the fresh reports that the Catalan giants are likely to wait until the very last moment before making a call on whether or not Pique can be included in the matchday squad.
However, the next objective for the experienced defender would be for returning for the Copa final against Athletic Bilbao the following week.
