Barcelona suffer another injury blow ahead of crucial Atletico Madrid clash - Reports

According to Football Espana, Barcelona full-back Alejandro Balde has joined the list of injured players at the club. The star is reportedly dealing with an injury to his right ankle (syndesmosis).

Alongside Balde on the sidelines, Ansu Fati and Memphis Depay are also out of action. While Fati has been ruled out with yet another injury, Depay remains out of contention due to a thigh injury.

Ahead of Sunday's game against Atletico Madrid, the Blaugrana were already without Depay and Fati. Now they have to contend without Balde's services as well.

While there is no official confirmation on how long Balde will be out for, syndesmosis sprains generally keep players off the field for six weeks. In Balde's absence, the Blaugrana will have to make do with Jordi Alba and Oscar Mingueza as their left-back options.

This season, Barcelona have struggled with injuries and poor fitness of players, forcing manager Xavi Hernadez to revamp the medical team. However, with Fati suffering a relapse of an old injury, it is uncertain how much things have improved in the medical department.

The club currently sit in fifth place in the La Liga standings, just a point behind the Champions League spots. If they beat the struggling holders on Sunday, the Blaugrana will take over fourth place from Los Colchoneros as they look for a top-four finish.

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How Barcelona fared in the winter transfer window

Granada CF vs FC Barcelona - La Liga Santander

While the Blaugrana's financial woes are far from over, they brought in a lot of new faces to the Camp Nou in January. There are still some notable issues to resolve in the team like Ousmane Dembele's contract situation. The Frenchman, who runs out of contract this summer, stayed put at the club after reportedly refusing to leave in January. However, overall, the club enjoyed a decent transfer window.

Dani Alves returned as a free agent in November, and has hit the ground running, providing two assists in four games. Meanwhile, Manchester City star Ferran Torres arrived at the Camp Nou in December. While there was some difficulty in registering him, the winger has made a decent start to life at Barcelona, scoring once in three games.

Philippe Coutinho and his massive wages were offloaded to Aston Villa, while Adama Traore was signed on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also arrived on a free transfer from Arsenal, but the club hasn't officially announced his signing yet.