FC Barcelona star Marc Casado has suffered an injury reported by SPORT - citing anonymous sources - as being season-ending.
Casado won his place back in the starting XI for Sunday’s top of the table La Liga clash against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano.
The midfielder was a revelation in the first half of the season for head coach Hansi Flick while partnering Pedri in a highly-successful double pivot, but he was soon sidelined when Frenkie de Jong returned from injury and to top form in the last couple of months.
Casado has been used sparingly since, and had a golden opportunity to shine against Atleti.
De Jong was expected to start in the Spanish capital, but was ruled out ahead of kick off with what RAC1 reported to be a stomach issue.
“We’ve prepared well for the match tonight. The only frustrating part is that Frenkie was supposed to start, but he felt some discomfort, so we had to make a change. He’s not even on the bench,” Flick told the media before kick off.
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“We have no excuses, that’s been the message from the start of the season. Of course, I appreciate the players’ mentality in this type of match.
“The coaches, physios, etc. have done a great job; it’s a long road to the end of the season. If we win today, we’ll get three big points. It’s an important day.”
Casado managed 67 minutes against Atleti and was brought off while Barca were still 2-o down.
Barca of course won 4-2 eventually in one of its greatest comebacks of modern times on a par with that in Lisbon against Benfica in a January Champions League fixture, but unfortunately there has been bad news with Casado.
The Spain national team has already confirmed his withdrawal from the La Roja squad over the international break, and replacement by Aleix Garcia, and SPORT reckons that he could be out for more than two months thanks to his tear of an external ligament.
Given we are now in mid-March, the newspaper’s journalist Toni Juanmarti says that the La Masia product has bid ‘adios’ to the rest of the season.
He could possibly return right at the end of the campaign for a few minutes, and who knows if Barca could be on the verge of a first La Liga crown since 2023.