A member of the defensive ranks at La Liga giants Barcelona played no part in team training alongside the rest of Hansi Flick’s squad on Friday.
The player in question? Héctor Fort.
Barcelona, of course, are currently being put through final preparations for what marks one of the club’s most important fixtures of the season to date.
Locked on points with Atlético Madrid atop the La Liga table, the Blaugrana will welcome Diego Simeone’s side to Catalunya’s capital, for a highly-anticipated showdown on Saturday night.
Hansi Flick and his coaching staff will already be forced to make do without one key member of their playing squad for the matchup, Lamine Yamal having been ruled out with an ankle injury.
And, as alluded to above, if the latest word stemming from The Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper is anything to go by, then another (albeit less high-profile) absentee could yet be on the cards, too.
As confirmed by Barcelona insider Víctor Navarro, Héctor Fort was not part of the group put through their paces in training on Friday morning.
The full-back’s status to face Atlético, in turn, is considered as being up in the air.
Conor Laird – GSFN