Barcelona have suffered a double midfield injury ahead of the start of the season, with Frenkie de Jong and Pedri set to miss next week's crucial Champions League match against Napoli and the trip to Atlético Madrid in LaLiga .
Sources have told ESPN that De Jong will be sidelined for around a month after Barca confirmed he sprained an ankle ligament in Sunday's goalless draw against Athletic Club in LaLiga.
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Tests carried out on Monday revealed that Pedri is suffering from a quadriceps problem after failing to finish the match in San Mamés.
Given Pedri's recent injury history, there is reluctance to set a timetable for his return to action, although he is not expected to feature again until at least April.
“Pedri began his recovery work on Monday with the sole objective of returning to full fitness, not focused on a specific moment of a specific match,” a source told ESPN.
De Jong and Pedri join Gavi on the bench, leaving Barça short in midfield at a key moment in the campaign, as the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Napoli approaches.
He blaugrana They will host the Italian champions at the Olympic Stadium on March 12 after a 1-1 draw at the Diego Maradona Stadium in the first leg last month.
Xavi Hernández's side also have important games ahead of them in LaLiga as they look to seal a place in the top four and keep their weakened title hopes alive.
They host Mallorca on Friday and then travel to Atlético on March 17 before the international break as they try to reduce the eight-point gap that separates them from league leaders Real Madrid.
If Barça advances against Napoli, they would have a potential Champions League quarterfinal in early April, with the second LaLiga Classic of the season against Madrid scheduled for April 21 at the Bernabéu.
It is the second time this season that De Jong has sprained his ankle. He was out for almost two months between September and November due to an injury to the same ankle.
For Pedri, it is the latest in a series of problems he has had since playing 52 games in his debut campaign for Barça in 2020-21, in addition to the European Championship and the Olympic Games with Spain.
The former Las Palmas midfielder missed 41 games for club and country in 2021-22, mainly due to a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for several months.
He also missed 15 games in the second half of last season with another hamstring problem suffered in the Europa League tie against Manchester United.
Earlier this season, he was out for two and a half months with a quadriceps problem, while another muscle problem kept him out for three weeks at the start of the year.
With Gavi also out this season due to a torn ACL, Xavi called up youngsters Marc Casadó and Pau Prim to train with the first team on Monday.
Oriol Romeu, Sergi Roberto, Ilkay Gündogan and Fermín López are the remaining fit central midfielders in the squad, while centre-back Andreas Christensen has also been deployed in a more advanced position in recent weeks.
