Barcelona forward will return from injury vs Athletic Club in March, veteran duo to be back against Celta

Barcelona have been hit hard by injuries this season that have affected their performances. As of this week, Xavi Hernandez is without as many as seven first-team players out through injuries.

Of them, Alejandro Balde and Gavi are ruled out for the rest of the season while Marcos Alonso and Ferran Torres are unlikely to return until next month.

That leaves Joao Felix, Sergi Roberto, and Oriol Romeu, and Ferran Correas of SPORT has come up with an update on the potential return dates of the trio.

Joao Felix out until early March

As per the report, forward Joao Felix is expected to miss the next few games, including the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Napoli later this month.

The 24-year-old Portuguese forward has been out due to an ankle injury he suffered during training and has gone on to miss games against Osasuna, Alaves, and Granada.

The initial prognosis was that Felix would miss around three weeks of action, which would be completed around the time of the game against Napoli.

However, Ferran Correas states that, as things stand, Felix will not be able to make it for the trip to Italy, meaning he will also miss this weekend’s La Liga clash versus Celta Vigo.

In fact, he is unlikely to be ready for the match against Getafe either, with his return likely to take place in early March against Athletic Club.

Roberto, Romeu to receive discharges

Romeu, Roberto to return vs Celta. (Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images)

There is some good news for Xavi and Barcelona though as veteran duo Roberto and Romeu will be receiving their medical discharges this week and will be available to face Celta Vigo.

Roberto has been out for a month due to an Achilles tendon issue. It was expected that the midfieder/right-back could return last week against Granada, but he did not resume training with the group. But, that is expected to change this week.

As for Romeu, the 32-year-old defensive midfielder missed the game against Granada due to some discomfort. However, the issue is nothing serious and having rested over the weekend, the ex-Chelsea man is expected to be back against Celta later this week.