Barcelona lose defender to injury before Atletico Madrid clash

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has likely already settled on a plan to face Atletico Madrid on Saturday night. However if it included Hector Fort, he will have to rethink it.

The 18-year-old defender missed Barcelona’s final training session before the big game on Friday, due to muscular discomfort. Sport say that he is unlikely to be in their squad for the game as a result.

Ansu Fati and Andreas Christensen did train without issues, the former coming back from a hamstring problem, and the latter recovering from an Achilles’ tendon issue. Fati will be in the squad tomorrow, but Christensen is likely to be kept out for longer to facilitate a full recovery.

Barcelona are moving towards a fully fit squad now under Hansi Flick for the first time, but the other two absences they do have are costly. Captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen is out for much of the season, and Lamine Yamal will not be back for several weeks.