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It appears that injury and fitness woes are continuing to pile on for Barcelona as first-choice left-back Alejandro Balde is seemingly dealing with an ankle problem that could see him miss the upcoming game against Villarreal.
This claim comes from Toni Juanmarti and Ferran Correas of SPORT, who report that Balde is dealing with some discomfort in his ankle caused by a bad action during the training session on Friday morning.
Balde’s absence could be a major blow
The 19-year-old has grown into a key player for Barcelona over the past year, establishing himself as the first-choice left-back in Xavi Hernandez’s squad.
Balde had taken over from Jordi Alba last campaign as the manager’s preferred option on the left side of the defence and had been in good touch since pre-season.
The teenage academy graduate’s attacking prowess down the left flank is key to the way that the Blaugrana operate in Xavi’s system and his potential absence could serve as a major blow.
There has been no official update on Balde’s injury and more clarity could emerge tomorrow when Xavi addresses the media during his press conference.
Marcos Alonso’s registration now a priority
Balde’s potential absence means that Barcelona could be left without a natural left-back in their ranks for the Villarreal clash as they are yet to register Marcos Alonso with La Liga.
As such, the aforementioned report states that the veteran Spaniard’s registration is now set to become a priority before Sunday’s game.
It had previously been reported that Barça would take advantage of Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s downward renewal to register Inaki Pena first and then Alonso if there was enough margin.
But, Balde’s situation flips the situation around completely and now it is the left-back whose registration will be dealt with first so that he can be available for the game against Villarreal.
There are conflicting reports emerging on Balde’s condition, though, with Javi Miguel stating that the youngster will be ready to start on Sunday. So we may have to wait until Xavi’s press conference to learn the exact situation.