Barcelona have revealed that Alejandro Balde has suffered a hamstring injury, with the left-back now potentially being on the sidelines for the next three weeks.
Balde has not been selected in the Spain squad for their 2026 World Cup qualification fixtures with Bulgaria and Turkey, so he has been training with his club at the start of this week.
The full-back has suffered an injury blow, though, with Barcelona revealing that the Spaniard sustained a problem with his left hamstring during Wednesday's session.
"Defender Alejandro Balde suffered a slight injury to his left hamstring during today’s training session. His availability will depend on how he progresses," read a statement from the Catalan outfit.
Barcelona have called the issue "slight", but according to journalist Helena Condis, it will be enough to keep him out of action for the next three weeks.
Alejandro Balde of Barcelona during his side's match against Leganes, on April 12, 2025Balde 'facing three weeks out' with hamstring issue
The 21-year-old is the first-choice left-back at Barcelona, starting all three of their La Liga matches this season against Mallorca, Levante and Rayo Vallecano.
However, Balde is now expected to miss at least Barcelona's next three matches, with the team returning to action after the international break against Valencia on September 14.
Four days after the clash with Los Che, Barcelona will head to St James' Park to tackle Newcastle United in their opening game in the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League.
Barcelona will then be back in action against Getafe on September 21, with Balde in line to miss those three games, while he would also be a major doubt for the La Liga game with Real Oviedo on September 24.
Gerard Martin celebrates scoring for Barcelona against Real Sociedad on March 2, 2025
Martin has now been registered by Barcelona
Barcelona managed to register Gerard Martin at the end of last month, so the 23-year-old, who was linked with a summer departure, will be able to deputise for Balde while the defender is out.
Martin made 42 appearances for Barcelona last season and showed that he is more than capable of being a starter for the Catalan outfit, so it expected that the Spaniard will now receive a run in the side.
Head coach Flick may have other plans, though, as he has shuffled his defence early in the season, with Jules Kounde surprisingly not starting the campaign in the XI, while Ronald Araujo and Pau Cubarsi were both dropped against Rayo Vallecano last time out.
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