Barcelona are set to be without Sergio Busquets for their clash with Manchester United in the Europa League next week after the veteran was officially ruled out by doctors.
That’s according to AS, who say the Spaniard ‘will not be available’ for the high profile clash after the medical staff at the Nou Camp stepped in.
The newspaper has learned that Barcelona’s medical team have ‘ruled out’ the possibility of injecting the midfielder in his left ankle so that he could be fit for their big European clash.
They explain that Busquets is currently suffering from a sprain he picked up last Sunday in the first few minutes of the clash against Sevilla.
He left that game limping from the field and was ‘visibly dejected’, aware that the injury was not a minor one he would be able to shake off.
Subsequent tests confirmed a grade two sprain in the external lateral ligament, which should rule him out for at least 15 days.
The doctors at Barcelona had suggested that they could inject into his ankle to shorten his return time but that has now been officially ruled out as it could have ‘counterproductive consequences’ and worsen the degree of the sprain.
As a result, Busquets has been ‘completely ruled out’ of the upcoming clash with Manchester United in the Europa League.
That will be a ‘significant loss’ for manager Xavi, as Busquets, his former teammate, had become an extension of him on the pitch. Thus, his absence is a major blow and something he will have to work out.
Frenkie de Jong is likely to fill in the position, something he has done this season already, after a season in which he was ironically heavily linked to Manchester United.
Now he will need to replace Busquets for the first leg against them, as the Spaniard ‘will miss a total of three games’ as a result of this ankle injury.
