Pedri, Araujo and Dembele all ruled out for both Dynamo Kiev and Real Madrid clashes
Ronald Koeman appears to be getting more and more bad news as Barcelona coach, and the latest is a triple blow with Pedri, Ronald Araujo and Ousmane Dembele all being ruled out for both the matches against Dynamo Kiev and Real Madrid.
It's likely to be a pivotal week for Los Cules' season with their Champions League continuity all but requiring a victory against the Ukrainian club, and a defeat to Real Madrid in the Clasico will put a dent in their domestic aspirations.
Being without a crucial starter such as Pedri is hard enough, but Koeman will also miss the versatility of Araujo and Dembele, although the former Everton coach was aware this was likely during the international break.
He had, though, hoped at least one of them would have been fit enough to play in the first Clasico of the season, but that has proven not to be the case.
The club's medical department don't want to take any chances and risk relapses, particularly in the case of Dembele who has been susceptible to injury since he arrived in Catalonia.
Araujo has had three muscular injuries since his debut with the senior team and the club are aware of the problems these can create in the long-term.
The Uruguayan defender is working alone so as not to suffer an injury relapse and needs further time to get his fitness up to scratch.
Pedri's case should be the most worrying for Barcelona, simply because of the amount of football his young body was put through in the 2020/21 season.
It's easy to forget that Pedri is still technically growing, despite his incredible performances, and the two muscular injuries in the past two months are a worrying sign that cumulative fatigue has set in.
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