Barcelona have confirmed that midfielder Marc Casado will miss the next two months after suffering a knee injury in the 4-2 win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday night.
The 21-year-old was forced off midway through the second half, shortly before the dramatic finish to the game which saw five goals in the final 20 minutes.
Just moments after a collision with Antoine Griezmann that forced Casado off, Alexander Sorloth put Atletico 2-0 up, but Barca rallied late on to turn the game completely on its head, claiming the victory that moved them back to the top of the La Liga table.
They will have to play most of the run-in without Casado now, though, as he is set to miss almost all of their remaining La Liga fixtures.
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Casado ruled out with knee ligament tear
In a statement released on Tuesday, the club confirmed that Casado suffered a tear to the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee in the clash with Atletico.
Fortunately, any damage to the anterior cruciate ligament has been avoided, meaning no surgery will be required, and the midfielder will instead undergo conservative treatment to ease him back into action.
It will deny Casado the chance to join up with the Spanish national side, though, after making his full debut in November's win over Switzerland, as this injury saw him withdraw from the squad earlier in the week.
The setback may also see the youngster miss the rest of the league season, which comes to its conclusion on May 25 away to Athletic Bilbao, and that will be a headache for manager Hansi Flick, who has relied on Casado as a very useful squad player this season.
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How much will Barca miss Casado?
While not one of the first-choice options in the Barcelona engine room, Casado has more than proven his worth over the past few months.
Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Gavi and Dani Olmo have all had their injury problems this season, so their minutes have been managed wherever possible, and Casado has proved capable of stepping in at a high level, often in the league, where Barcelona remain on top.
Casado has appeared in 24 La Liga matches this season, as well as 10 in the Champions League, with a decent proportion being from the start, including in both El Clasico wins so far.
From this point onwards though, Flick may have to use his strongest midfielders in all three competitions they are still involved in, and with the games coming thick and fast after the final international break of the season, Casado will certainly be a notable absentee.
Barca are already without Marc Bernal in midfield for the rest of the season, and De Jong was absent at the weekend, so Flick will hope to have him back following the resumption of club action in two weeks.
Andrew Delaney
