Barcelona suffer injury blow ahead of Real Madrid Copa del Rey final | OneFootball

Barcelona's first-choice left-back Alejandro Balde could reportedly be sidelined for as long as three weeks after suffering an injury which manager Hansi Flick warned was "not so good".

Balde was forced off in the first half of Barcelona's narrow 1-0 victory away to Leganes on Saturday night. The jet-heeled full-back sunk to the turf shortly before the interval after making a clearance on the edge of his own box.

Academy graduate Gerard Martin offered a natural replacement for Balde at Butarque as Barcelona squeezed all three points out of a difficult trip to the capital thanks to Jorge Saenz's own goal. However, there are real concerns that the Catalans may be without their flying full-back for several key fixtures.

Flick was at pains to reserve judgement over the severity of Balde's injury. "I can only say that we have to wait and see," the German boss told assembled reporters after the game. Yet, Flick had already let slip that "Balde is not so good". Initial reports from Mundo Deportivo claim that the left-back could be sidelined for two to three weeks with a hamstring issue.

Almost any injury will force Balde to miss the second leg of Barcelona's Champions League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, but there are plenty of important fixtures on the horizon.

Flick's La Liga leaders host Celta Vigo and Mallorca in the league before going up against Real Madrid in an all-important Copa del Rey final on Saturday, 26 April - exactly two weeks after Balde suffered his injury.

If the 21-year-old is forced to recover for three weeks, he would also sit out the first leg of a potential Champions League semi-final, which will be held on either 29 or 30 April.

Balde wasn't Barcelona's only injury concern this weekend. Centre-back Ronald Araujo was also removed at half-time, although Flick was quick to downplay any concerns about the Uruguayan. "Araujo has had minor problems," he noted, "but nothing more."