Barcelona is set to be without captain Sergio Busquets for the Europa League clash against Manchester United next week.
The defensive midfielder has sustained an ankle injury and will be unavailable to play until he recovers, the Spanish club said on Monday.
Busquets sprained ligaments in his left ankle making a challenge early in Sunday’s 3-0 home win over Sevilla which extended the Catalan club’s lead at the top of the LaLiga standings to eight points.
A short statement from the club read: ‘Tests carried out this morning have revealed that Sergio Busquets has a lateral collateral ligament sprain in his left ankle.
He is out and his recovery will determine his availability.’
While Barcelona have not been a timeline on his return, SPORT report Busquets is likely to be out for two to three weeks.
Barcelona host Manchester United in the first leg of their Europa League knockout round playoff on February 16.
The 34-year-old Busquets has featured in all but two of Barcelona’s 20 league games this season.
Barcelona are already without Ousmane Dembele for the first leg against United after the winger suffered a thigh muscle injury in the win over Girona last month.
