Barcelona have reportedly suffered a major blow ahead of Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Inter Milan, with Alejandro Balde not expected to be available for the fixture.
The Spain international has been on the sidelines since suffering a hamstring injury against Leganes on April 12, missing the team's last three league matches and also the last two Champions League fixtures.
The 21-year-old had originally been pencilled in to play some minutes against Real Valladolid on Saturday night with a view to being involved from the first whistle against Inter in the Champions League.
However, Balde was not involved in the league fixture, as he was unable to return to training towards the end of last week.
According to AS, It is now seen as almost impossible for Balde to be available against Inter, with the club instead working on him returning to action in El Clasico next weekend.
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Balde 'set to miss' Inter fixture
Balde has been in excellent form for Barcelona during the 2024-25 campaign, making 43 appearances in all competitions, scoring once and providing 10 assists in the process.
His expected absence is a huge blow for a Barcelona side that drew 3-3 with Inter in the first leg of their semi-final last week.
However, there should be some positive news on the injury front, with Robert Lewandowski set to be back in the side after recovering from a hamstring problem of his own.
Head coach Hansi Flick has some big decisions to make when it comes to the full-back areas, though, as right-back Jules Kounde, who has also been outstanding for the La Liga leaders this term, is also on the sidelines with a hamstring problem.
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What could Barcelona's defence look like against Inter?
Eric Garcia replaced Kounde off the bench against Inter in the first leg, and the indications are that the Spaniard will line up at right-back, as Hector Fort is unlikely to be trusted from the first whistle in a game of this magnitude.
Gerard Martin is the back-up left-back, and he put in a man-of-the-match performance against Real Valladolid on Saturday night, but the 23-year-old could find himself back on the bench for this game.
Indeed, it is being reported that Inigo Martinez will line up at left-back, with Ronald Araujo and Pau Cubarsi in the middle.
Barcelona would certainly lose something going forward with Martinez in that area, but in theory, the team should be more solid defensively, which was not the case in the first leg of the last-four clash.
Balde is likely to be back in training towards the end of next week, which would put him in contention to be available for the La Liga fixture against reigning Spanish champions Real Madrid next weekend.
Matt Law
