Barcelona played out their final match in the Champions League for this campaign on Tuesday night and it was a bittersweet 4-2 victory that they will fly home with.
Their strong attacking play contrasted sharply with their struggles without the ball. However the big concern was the potential injuries after the match.
Ivorian midfielder Franck Kessie came off just before the 70th minute after he went down during a counter-attack. He was forced off with injury for Marc Casado, who made his senior debut. Already Kessie’s face told a story though.
Speaking to Movistar+ after the match, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez did not ease fears about his injury.
“Kessié is bad and pissed off because he has hurt his pelvis. I think that until the injury he was good. He was good in the air, in bringing the ball out… But he has had the bad luck of the injury.”
Diario AS carried his comments and Javi Miguel gave the first reports of his injury, claiming instead a thigh injury. The prognosis is six weeks recovery as a minimum, ruling him out of action until after the World Cup.
Kessie: rotura biceps femoral pierna izquierda. primeras sensaciones hablan de 6 semanas K0 minimo. mas detalles en @diarioas
— Javi Miguel Club (@fansjavimiguel) November 1, 2022
Youngster Pablo Torre also made his first start for Barcelona and had a turbulent time, conceding a penalty and scoring. In the aftermath of the goal though, he too was forced off for Alvaro Sanz.
However Xavi was not concerned about Torre’s condition and he should be available going forward.
“Pablo played well. The game was difficult for the midfielders. They had to attack spaces and it is not his main quality. He has other qualities but he understood his role well and ended up making it 2-4 by attacking space. He has cramps, but nothing serious.”
Looked at with a silver lining, if Kessie was to pick up a lengthy injury, this is likely the best time to do so. Ivory Coast are not at the World Cup and so Kessie would likely miss just two games for Barcelona in spite of the prospective time out.
