The Catalan giants come to St James' Park next week for the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie
Jules Kounde of FC Barcelona lies injured on the pitch
Barcelona's Jules Kounde was forced off against Athletico Madrid(Image: Getty Images)
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Barcelona were dealt two big injury blows this week ahead of their Champions League two-legged tie with Newcastle United - both in the same position.
The La Liga giants come to Tyneside on Tuesday, March 10 for the first leg of the last 16 encounter with Eddie Howe's side, before the return leg in Spain on March 18.
However, manager Hansi Flick saw TWO full-backs forced off with injury in their Copa del Rey tie with Athletico Madrid on Tuesday night, in what is a major blow to his side.
Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde both had to leave the field during the 4-1 win over Atleti at the Camp Nou, leaving Flick with a major headache.
Kounde came off after just 13 minutes, with substitute Balde forced into action early in the game. However, he only lasted until the 71st minute before suffering injury, with Ronald Araujo replacing him.
Barca have former Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo available after he ended his loan with Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in the January transfer window.
A Barcelona statement read: “First-team player Jules Kounde has suffered a mid-belly hamstring (biceps femoris) injury in his left thigh. His recovery progress will determine his availability.
“First-team player Alejandro Balde has suffered a distal hamstring (biceps femoris) injury in his left thigh. Examinations indicate that the recovery process will take approximately four weeks.”
It means both are likely to miss the matches against Newcastle United in the coming weeks, leaving Flick with some rethinking to do.
Newcastle expect to have Tino Livramento available for the ties, with the England defender very close to a first-team return after two months out with a hamstring strain.
Midfielder Lewis Miley has also spoken about targetting the away leg for his return from a thigh problem.
The United youngster said: “I’ll hopefully be back before the international break and hopefully back for a couple of games before that. I am hoping for the Barcelona away game, It will be a very good game to be back for."
Whil Barcelona won 4-1 on the night, they lost the tie 5-4 on aggregate to Atleti after a 4-0 first-leg defeat. They will face Athletico Bilbao in La Liga on Saturday night before focusing on Newcastle.
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