Barcelona have had their fair share of injury problems this season, and they continued on Wednesday during their Copa del Rey quarter-final defeat to Athletic Club at San Mames. Alejandro Balde was forced off early on in that one after suffering a hamstring injury, which looked serious at the time.
Initial diagnoses into the problem revealed that Balde could be out for 4-6 weeks, although as it turns out, it may well be much longer that the young defender spends on the sidelines. Marca say that surgery could be required in order to rectify the problem, which would see Balde be out of action for approximately four months.
Equally, Barcelona could decide to follow a conservative treatment plan for Balde. This would see him out of action for 4-6 weeks, but he would return for the final stretch of the season – given the nature of the club’s injury problems, this may be the best course of action, and there is sufficient cover for now (Joao Cancelo and Hector Fort).
Balde has been off-colour in recent months, but he is still a vital player for head coach Xavi Hernandez. Losing him for a significant period of time would be a major blow, and it would essentially mean that his season for Barcelona would be all-but over if he does need to go under the knife.
