Barcelona have confirmed that defender Inigo Martinez has suffered a hamstring tear, and that the Basque defender will be spending the next four weeks on the touchline. Martinez has been a starter for Hansi Flick this season alongside Pau Cubarsi, playing almost all of their games.
Martinez, 33, went down in the first half of Barcelona’s 5-2 win over Real Madrid on Sunday, being replaced by Ronald Araujo. It means that he will likely miss at least seven games, although it is a reprieve on the initial five weeks that was reported as a recovery time.
Medical News | Tests conducted this morning confirmed that I. Martínez has suffered a right hamstring tear. He is expected to be out for around 4 weeks. pic.twitter.com/g2y5ICuYNG
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 14, 2025
Martinez will be absent for Real Betis (H), Getafe (A), Benfica (A), Valencia (H), Alaves (H) and Sevilla (A), as well as a potential eighth clash in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals if they make it past Real Betis this Wednesday.
Robert Lewandowski to Ronald Araújo: “Ronald… You have to stay, at least until the end of the season. @ElDiaDespues https://t.co/hXDK6sKYzU
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 13, 2025
He would in theory be back for the Champions League play-off round if Barcelona were to drop out of the top 8 in Europe. The logical solution is to slot Araujo into Martinez’s place, as worked so well on Sunday night. However with rumours that Araujo could be on his way out of the club in January, he may have to call on Eric Garcia, or Andreas Christensen, who is still yet to get the green light on his return from an Achilles’ tendon issue.
