Barcelona confirm injury status of 2 key players after 1-0 Valencia win

Barcelona have given a promising injury update on Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia after their 1-0 La Liga win against Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium on October 29.

The defensive duo started at the heart of the team's backline against Los Che but were forced off the pitch with their respective injuries. Garcia made way for Marcos Alonso in the 42nd minute while Gerard Pique replaced Kounde 16 minutes from the full-time whistle.

The former Chelsea left-back deputized in central defense alongside Pique, with the latter no longer trusted by the club as a regular starter.

Barca have now confirmed the nature of Kounde and Garcia's injuries.

The France international recently returned from a hamstring issue and has now been diagnosed with a thigh strain. Garcia, meanwhile, suffered an external obturator muscle strain in his left hip.

The club did not specify when the duo will return to action, but Mundo Deportivo (h/t Footballclaimedna) claim that they could be sidelined for a week. This will come as a boost to manager Xavi Hernandez, who would have initially feared the worst.

They are likely to be rested for Barcelona's UEFA Champions League group-stage clash against Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday (November 1). The Catalan giants have already been relegated to the UEFA Europa League playoff rounds while Plzen will finish fourth in the group regardless of the result.

The two could return to the team for the Liga clash against UD Almeria, which takes place on November 5.

Ronald Araujo has been sidelined with a long-term injury. He is expected to return for Barca only after the end of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

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Xavi feared Barcelona's winner would be disallowed vs. Valencia

Robert Lewandowski secured all three points for Barcelona against Valencia with a 93rd-minute winner.

However, Xavi said he feared the goal would be disallowed by VAR. A beautiful left-footed cross by Raphinha found the Poland international in the box, who finished well with a first-time attempt.

Perhaps Xavi feared Lewandowski was offside for the goal, but one look at the replay screen clarified that he was well onside. Speaking after the full-time whistle, the Spanish tactician said (h/t BarcaUniversal):

"It was not an excellent match by any means. We played with a bit of anxiety today. I think we were affected by Wednesday. With the bad dynamic we’ve been having this season, when Lewandowski scored, my first thought was: ‘They’ll disallow it’.”

Barcelona were beaten 3-0 by Bayern at Camp Nou on Wednesday (October 26) just a couple of hours after learning of their elimination from the group stage.