Barcelona suffer a major blow before decisive Champions League clash vs Chelsea

Barcelona have suffered a major setback ahead of their match against Chelsea on Tuesday at Stamford Bridge in London, as part of Matchday 5 of the Champions League group stage.

According to Sport, the team trained on Monday before traveling to London, and it was confirmed that Pedri González will miss the match as he is still not 100% recovered from his muscle injury and did not train with the rest of the squad.

Pedri is in the final stages of his recovery process, but Hansi Flick will not rush him back — he will only return when he is fully fit. The player is also following the plan strictly and does not want to risk returning too soon.

Even so, it is not ruled out that he may still travel with the squad to London and be by the team’s side on a special day, as he will be celebrating his 23rd birthday on Tuesday. He will travel, but without medical clearance.

Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford returned to training after overcoming the viral infection that sidelined him against Athletic Bilbao, and the English forward will travel to the English capital with the team on a flight scheduled for 15:45.

Frenkie de Jong will also be available after missing the Bilbao match due to the red card he received against Celta Vigo before the international break.

Eric García, for his part, continues to wear a protective mask following the broken nose he suffered against Club Brugge, though it has not affected his impressive performances.

Source: Sport