Barcelona to be without star player for Chelsea showdown due to injury

On Tuesday, Barcelona will be in London for their Champions League clash against Premier League side Chelsea. The Catalans have won two of their four league phase matches so far (D1 L1), but their chances of getting that third victory have now taken a significant blow.

At the back-end of October, it was confirmed that Pedri had suffered a hamstring injury – his first physical issue since Hansi Flick took over as manager. He was initially projected to be out of action for 6-8 weeks, although recent updates have revealed that he has cut his injury timeline by a significant margin.

There has been hope that Pedri would be able to play at Stamford Bridge, but this has been extinguished. According to Sport, Barcelona have decided to take no risks with their star midfielder, as they do not want a repeat of the situation with Raphinha, who suffered a relapse of his own hamstring injury last month.

Image via Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Better news with Marcus Rashford

However, there is good news for Barcelona with Marcus Rashford, who missed out against Athletic Club on Saturday. The on-loan Manchester United winger has been suffering with the flu in recent days, but he has now returned to training alongside his teammates. If there is no further issues in the last 24 hours, he will be able to face Chelsea in his home country.

Rashford could return to the line-up on Tuesday, given that Raphinha will not be fit enough to start. As for midfield, Flick will be able to call upon Frenkie de Jong following his suspension for the Athletic match, although there are doubts about his partner in the centre of the park – there are chances for Marc Casado to get the nod, although Eric Garcia may continue in this role after his fine performance at the Spotify Camp Nou earlier in the weekend.

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