Barcelona: Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets will be out for around three weeks with a fractured toe and faces a race to be fit for next month's Champions League quarter-finals.

Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets (R) walks with Barcelona's Spanish coach Ernesto Valverde as he is substituted during the UEFA Champions League round of sixteen second leg football match between FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on March 14, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE

Barcelona's Sergio Busquets (R) walks with Ernesto Valverde in Champions League clash against Chelsea. AFP

Busquets hobbled off in the 61st minute of Barca's 3-0 win over Chelsea on Wednesday as Lionel Messi's double sealed a 4-1 victory on aggregate. Ousmane Dembele was also on target at the Camp Nou.

The Catalans will discover on Friday their last eight opponent, with the first leg scheduled for 3 or 4 April, leaving Busquets a maximum of 21 days to recover.

Busquets' injury comes at a bad time too for Spain, with coach Julen Lopetegui due to announce on Friday his squad for friendlies against Germany on 23 March and Argentina on 27 March.

A Barcelona statement on Thursday read, "The tests performed have confirmed that the player of the first team Sergio Busquets has a fracture in the phalanx of the fifth right toe with a wound. His approximate absence is three weeks."


Published Date: Mar 15, 2018 17:55 PM | Updated Date: Mar 15, 2018 17:55 PM