Disappointment followed disappointment for Barca when, in addition to being held to a draw by Athletic Bilbao at San Mames and missing the opportunity to climb to second place, they also lost two key midfielders due to injury.

Barcelona encountered countless difficulties when taking charge on Athletic Bilbao’s field in round 27 of La Liga in the early morning of March 4 (Vietnam time). They controlled the ball more but did not appear to be too dominant in terms of position.

As a result, Barcelona was held to a 0-0 draw. They still stand still in 3rd place on the La Liga rankings, 1 and 8 points behind Girona and Real Madrid respectively.

Not stopping here, the home team at Camp Nou also suffered two big losses. De Jong suffered a serious ankle injury in the first half, while Pedri suffered a hamstring injury not long after.

Frenkie de Jong was taken away by medical team vehicle after suffering an injury. Dutch international De Jong was left in agony after an awkward touch as he got into an aerial dispute with Athletic Club’s Unai Gomez.

At minute 43, Barcelona continued to receive bad news when Pedri was injured. This player then left the field to make way for Yamal. Notably, both De Jong and Pedri’s injuries were not due to the opponent’s foul.

De Jong’s ankle injury appears to be much more serious than Pedri’s muscle problem. Both men will undergo tests with the club’s medical team when they return to Barcelona. Xavi will have to sweat because of the fitness of two key players at an important stage of the season.

Barca have now lost 3 of their 4 key midfielders to injury and may be forced to dig deeper into their academy to fill the void.

Sharing with the media through Diario AS after the match, Xavi sadly confirmed that both will have to sit out for a long time.

“Pedri and De Jong’s injuries don’t look good. We are very sad about these two absences. I imagine there will be quite a few matches where neither of them will be able to play.”

It is likely that Barca will be without De Jong and Pedri in the second leg of the 1/8 round of the Champions League with Napoli at Camp Nou’s home field, which will take place on March 13. This is very bad news for their hopes of progressing further. They are in Europe’s most prestigious tournament after drawing 1-1 at Maradona Stadium in the first leg.