Barcelona fear key starter will miss Copa del Rey final

Barcelona may have won at Leganes on Saturday, but it was far from a perfect evening for the La Liga leaders, who are now seven points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the standings ahead of Los Blancos’ match against Alaves on Sunday afternoon.

The big concern for Barcelona is with Alejandro Balde, who was forced off in the first half at Butarque after picking up an injury. While it has yet to be determined the severity of the problem, it is almost certain that he will be unavailable for Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Borussia Dortmund.

And according to Sport, there are also fears that he could be out for at least three weeks, which would rule him out of playing in the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid.

Should this be the case, Gerard Martin will be tasked with replacing Balde for two massively important matches. The 23-year-old, who has now made 31 appearances across all competitions since being promoted to the first team last summer, has struggled to perform at a high level at times this season, but he will now have the challenge on playing against Dortmund, and possibly Real Madrid if the injury to Balde is as bad as first feared.

Flick is a big of Martin, who signed a new contract in January, and he has confidence that he can step up to replace Balde over the coming weeks. As well as the matches against Dortmund and Real Madrid, the defender is also likely to be called upon from the start when Barcelona take on Celta Vigo and Mallorca in important La Liga fixtures.

Barcelona will be desperate for Balde to be fit to face Real Madrid, but even if that were to be the case, Flick may choose not to risk further injury for the 21-year-old – equally, he may pick Martin on merit.