New Barca blow as Suarez ruled out for a month
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Troubled Barcelona was dealt a new blow ahead of the start of the La Liga season when Luis Suarez was ruled out for a month with a knee injury yesterday.
The Uruguayan striker suffered the injury in the second half of Wednesday night’s 0-2 defeat away to Real Madrid in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup, although he played on to the end as Barcelona lost 1-5 on aggregate.
“Luis Suarez will be out of action for around four weeks. Tests carried out on Thursday morning confirm that the Uruguayan has a distension in the posterior articular capsule in his right knee picked up in the second half of the Clasico on Wednesday in the Santiago Bernabeu,” said Barcelona in a statement in English published on its website.
The news means Suarez will miss Barcelona’s first three games of the season in La Liga, at home to Betis on Sunday, away to Alaves on August 26 and at home to Espanyol on September 9.
He will also miss Uruguay’s World Cup qualifying ties against Argentina on August 31 and Paraguay on September 5 and is likely to sit out his club’s first UEFA Champions League group game on September 12 or 13.
Barcelona also revealed that defender Gerard Pique is a doubt for the meeting with Betis due to a groin strain, meaning further bad news for the Spanish giant whose summer has been overshadowed by the sale of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain.
Meanwhile, Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho, who is a target for Barcelona, has not recovered from a back injury and will miss tomorrow’s English Premier League match against Crystal Palace, manager Juergen Klopp said.
Coutinho, who submitted a transfer request last week according to media reports, missed Liverpool’s 3-3 draw at Watford last Saturday and the first leg of its UCL playoff, a 2-1 win over Hoffenheim on Tuesday.
“Phil is not available. Not in training so far,” Klopp told reporters yesterday, adding that he had nothing negative to say about the player’s attitude.
Barcelona’s sporting manager Pep Segura said on Wednesday that the Spanish club was “close” to signing Coutinho, despite Liverpool’s manager and owners saying the 25-year-old is not for sale.
Klopp said yesterday that nothing had changed with the club’s stance. “I don’t know why other people are saying what they’re saying (about Coutinho moving to Barcelona). I don’t even know him (Segura). I have never met him.”
Liverpool has had a relatively quiet transfer window compared to many of its rivals, signing defender Andrew Robertson, winger Mohamed Salah and striker Dominic Solanke.
The Reds have been linked in British media with moves for Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk and midfielder Naby Keita from RB Leipzig, but both players’ clubs have said they are not for sale at any price.
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