Bitter news for FC Barcelona. With Jules Koundé and Ronald Araujo, two defenders were injured during their international trips and are now out – and that of all things before eminently important games.
According to Barça, Koundé suffered a thigh injury during France’s 2-0 win over Austria. Araujo suffered a torn tendon in his adductor area in Uruguay’s 1-0 defeat to Iran in St. Poelten.
The Catalans did not give any information on the respective downtime, but according to media reports, it is likely to be two to three weeks in the case of Koundé. According to the Spanish newspaper AS, Araujo could even be forced to miss the World Cup in Qatar for six to eight weeks.
Araujo’s absence is particularly serious, as the central defender is an undisputed regular for coach Xavi, who has called up the 23-year-old for every game this season. Koundé, on the other hand, missed the first two league games but then established himself in the back four.
This means that Barça, still unbeaten in La Liga, will have to make changes in the coming weeks both in central defence and at right back in the important Champions League clashes against Inter Milan (4 October and 12 October) and in the Clasico in La Liga at Real Madrid (16 October).
