Barcelona mainstay likely to miss Inter Milan, Real Madrid matches through hamstring injury | OneFootball

FC Barcelona were pushed to the limit by Inter Milan last night at Montjuic as the two teams played out a 3-3 draw in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg.

The Blaugrana though were dealt a significant setback on the night as they lost key defender Jules Kounde to an injury.

The 26-year-old, starting at right-back as usual, had to be taken off close to half-time after he went down clutching his leg, with Eric Garcia coming on to replace him.

Kounde could miss two big games

Now, according to FCBRAC1, Kounde has suffered a hamstring injury that could keep him out of two big games for Barcelona.

Indeed, the French international is likely to miss next week’s second-leg tie against Inter Milan away in Italy due to the injury.

Set to miss key matches. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

On top of that, everything suggests that the versatile defender will also be unavailable to face Real Madrid in the Clasico on May 11 – which could very well end up being a title-deciding clash.

This comes as a significant blow for Barcelona considering how important Kounde has been for Barcelona this season.

One of the permanent fixtures in the lineup game after game, the former Sevilla ace has featured in 53 matches across all competitions, registering four goals and eight assists.

It was always likely that Kounde was going to be rested against Real Valladolid later this weekend, but he is now possibly ruled out of the subsequent two games vs Inter and Real Madrid as well.

In his absence, Hansi Flick could turn to Eric Garcia like he did last night while young Hector Fort is also an option.