Injury Confirmed and He Won't Play the Copa del Rey Final, a Heavyweight Is Out

Despite the  proximity and immediacy of the match against Getafe, a visit to the Coliseum for matchday 33 of LaLiga, most are focused on another match. The Copa del Rey final, to be held this Saturday, April 26, is the main topic of discussion. Especially regarding the players each coach will have available for that match.

The number of footballers Hansi Flick will be able to count on for the third Clásico of the season is quickly decreasing. First, it was Robert Lewandowski, who left injured from the LaLiga match against Celta de Vigo last weekend. Now the German coach will have to rebuild his defense after the information revealed on "El Chiringuito de Jugones".

The journalist José Álvarez, live on that program, pointed out that "there's a player who won't be there. It's true that he's been testing himself these days", aiming to be at his best for the upcoming Saturday match, but it ultimately wouldn't have been possible. "He's progressing little by little, but what people close to Balde have told me is that he won't play on Saturday", the journalist from 'El Chiringuito de Jugones' states.

With that certainty, José Álvarez reveals that FC Barcelona loses one of its key starters in the starting eleven: the left-back Alejandro Balde. Although it's not good news, the journalist notes that  "they're trying to push with both"... even though both Balde and Robert Lewandowski would be "practically ruled out" for that third Clásico of the current season.

Absence of Consideration

"Today, people close to Balde, who have been there in Montjuïc, have told me he won't make it to Saturday". The '3' of FC Barcelona, according to his closest associates,  "has been trying to test and advance" to recover from his current ailment as soon as possible. It won't be possible because "it's a muscle injury, Balde is a very explosive player" so forcing his muscles could lead to an injury as serious as it is avoidable right now.

That's why Hansi Flick would have already crossed Alejandro Balde off the list of players available for the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid, at La Cartuja. The absence of this key left-back for FC Barcelona is a major setback for a coach who aims to achieve the treble in his first season... as the coach of the entity based in the Catalan capital.

The Real Madrid coaching staff would have taken note of Alejandro Balde's injury. Because it's an event that unexpectedly and significantly alters the tactical approach that the blaugrana squad could present at La Cartuja on Saturday, April 26.

Meanwhile, FC Barcelona has been deprived of two of its major football assets for that crucial event, Real Madrid has managed to keep injuries under some control. Carlo Ancelotti will have the same players who faced Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals, although he hopes this encounter ends differently.