Barcelona midfielder Pedri is set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury, adding to the mounting injury crisis plaguing the defending La Liga champions.
The 22-year-old, who played nearly every second of El Clásico before his sending off in stoppage time, underwent testing after the Catalans’ 2–1 defeat to Real Madrid on Sunday afternoon.
Barcelona then confirmed on Wednesday that Pedri suffered a “tear in the distal biceps femoris muscle of his left thigh.”
Although the club did not specify a timeline for his recovery, report Pedri is not expected to return until after the November international break. Barcelona will be without their best midfielder for at least four weeks.
The injury comes after the Spaniard played 72 of a possible 73 matches for Barcelona since Hansi Flick took charge. This season alone, Pedri has started in all 13 matches the Catalan giants have played, logging 1,117 minutes across all competitions.
Pedri joins Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, Gavi, Dani Olmo, Joan García, Marc-André ter Stegen and Andreas Christensen in the infirmary. Nearly half of Flick’s starting XI are sidelined with injuries.
Already trailing Real Madrid by five points in the La Liga standings, Barcelona will need to get back to winning ways, even without Pedri pulling the strings from the heart of the midfield, if they want to keep the pressure on their bitter rivals.
