FC Barcelona’s Portuguese striker Joao Felix sprained his right ankle in training and will be unavailable for Wednesday’s late La Liga Matchday 20 match against Osasuna Pamplona, the Catalan club announced in a statement.
The player on loan from Atletico Madrid could miss upcoming league matches and is a doubt for Barca’s Champions League last-16 first leg against Napoli on February 21.
This is a new hard blow for Catalan coach Xavi Hernandez, already deprived of several major players including Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Gavi, Alejandro Balde and Raphinha.
The statement reads: “In this morning’s training session, first-team player João Felix suffered a sprain in the lateral ligament of his right ankle. He is unavailable, and his recovery will determine his availability.”
With 20 starts in 28 appearances, Joao Felix has quickly established himself as a regular at Barcelona.
His 7 La Liga goals and 5 assists across all competitions demonstrate his attacking prowess, making him a crucial part of the Blaugrana attack.
Xavi still has Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Vitor Roque available for the match as well as youngsters such as Marc Guiu and Fermin Lopez.
Under pressure for several weeks, Xavi announced on Saturday that he would leave the Blaugrana club at the end of the season, after another setback for his team against Villarreal (5-3) at home.
There’s speculation about the reasons behind Xavi’s decision, with some citing the recent string of poor results and pressure from the club, while others suggest he might have other opportunities in mind.
Xavi has not yet announced his future plans, but he has not ruled out the possibility of returning to Barcelona in a different capacity someday.
Meanwhile, the club is already in the process of searching for his replacement. Several high-profile managers, such as Mauricio Pochettino and Roberto Martinez, have been linked to the job.
