Barcelona crisis deepens as Pedri set for spell on the sidelines with hamstring injury

Barcelona have received a massive blow as key midfielder Pedri has sustained a hamstring injury and is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The Spanish midfielder picked up the injury after the 2-1 El Clasico defeat on Sunday, during which he was shown a red card in the final stages.

Diario AS predicts that Pedri could be out for up to three weeks and will not return until after the November international break.

As a result, he will miss the upcoming games against Elche , Club Brugge and Celta Vigo.

It will be interesting to see whether Pedri can recover in time for the tough fixtures against Athletic Bilbao and Chelsea towards the end of next month.

The 22-year-old’s injury is primarily due to exhaustion. He has started in every 13 games this season and clocked up more than 1000 minutes, the most by any Barca player.

The injury crisis at Barca continues to surge, with key players such as Raphinha , Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gavi , Andreas Christensen , Dani Olmo , and Joan Garcia still sidelined.

Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski is closing on his return from a muscle injury for the weekend’s game against Elche .

Lamine Yamal, Jules Kounde and Ferran Torres are far from being completely fit, having experienced injury setbacks this season.

The injury woes have impacted Barca’s performances on the pitch. They are currently second in La Liga and have suffered massive defeats against PSG, Sevilla and Real Madrid .

Pedri is an irreplaceable figure for Barca , having formed a strong partnership with Frenkie de Jong at the heart of the midfield.

Manager Hansi Flick will look to rely on the likes of Marc Casado, Marc Bernal, Fermin Lopez and Dro Fenanandez in the Spanish international’s absence.

Sunday’s defeat against Madrid ended Barca’s dominance in El Clasico, after winning all four derbies last season.

Trailing the Spanish capital giants by five points, Barca will look to bounce back against Elche this weekend.