Muscle problem adds Pedri to Barca's injury list

Madrid, Dec 20 (IANS) FC Barcelona will be without Spain international midfielder Pedri Gonzalez for their last game of 2023 after the 21-year-old suffered a muscle problem in Tuesday's training session.

Canary Island midfielder has a slight muscle injury after a knock in training.

That means he joins Gavi, Inigo Martinez and Marc-Andre ter Stegen on Barca's injury list for Wednesday's La Liga game at home to bottom side Almeria, which Frenkie de Jong also misses through suspension, Xinhua reports.

Pedri has struggled with injuries this season, making just eight appearances in the first 17 league matches of the campaign, and 38 in the previous two seasons.

The new injury is likely to keep him out of action for two weeks, also making him a doubt for his side's visit to Las Palmas on January 4.

Barca coach Xavi Hernandez told media that the club is looking for someone to cover in midfield in the January transfer window.

"We are looking to strengthen the squad, With Gavi's [knee] injury, we need a player who has a similar profile, but it's difficult. We will see what Financial Fair Play allows and we are working on it," said the Barca coach, who insisted his side could make up their nine- and seven-point deficits to La Liga leaders Girona and Real Madrid respectively.

"We can recover that, but we can't make mistakes, because we are paying heavily for them. We should have won in Valencia [on Saturday] and have a better second half to the season," added Xavi.