Frenkie de Jong, Pedri pick up injuries during Athletic Club vs Barcelona

Presented with the opportunity to potentially go in second place after Girona’s draw and cut short the deficit between themselves and Real Madrid to six points, Barcelona took on Athletic Club at the San Mames tonight.

Xavi lined up his best possible starting lineup for the game, with Pedri as the left-winger and a midfield trio of Ilkay Gundogan, Frenkie de Jong, and Andreas Christensen.

With the game still stuck at a 0-0 stalemate and no signs of a clear chance, things went bad to worse for Barcelona as Frenkie de Jong picked up what looked like a serious ankle injury.

The Dutchman, while contesting an aerial duel, twisted his ankle while landing, and could not continue. He could not even walk off the injury, and had to be taken off on the on-pitch ambulance.

If that was not enough problems for the first half, Pedri went down holding his hamstring after attempting a long pass, and was in tears by the time the medics came on to the pitch.

He had to be substituted off as well, and was seen crying on the bench.

This is the Spaniard’s third injury this season, and by the looks of things, a potentially serious one as well.

Barcelona will take on Mallorca on Friday in the coming week before locking horns against Napoli for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16, with the aggregate score at 1-1.