Bad news Barca fans on and off the field, draw against Athletic, and lose de Jong and Pedri to injuries

It was a disappointing evening for Barcelona on Sunday, as they failed to extend their winning run against Athletic Club, with the two teams playing out a goalless draw at San Mames. However, the bigger story for the Catalan giants was two major injury blows to Frenkie de Jong and Pedri.

De Jong suffered a serious-looking ankle injury in the first half, while Pedri pulled up with a hamstring complaint not too long after. Both players look set for an extended period on the sidelines, as Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez told the media after the full-time whistle in Bilbao.

“It’s unfortunate because of the injuries to two very important players. Between today and Monday, we’ll know more, but they don’t look good. We’re affected, I think the team could have been affected as well, and I imagine those two absentees will be for many games.”

The likelihood is that Barcelona will be without de Jong and Pedri for the return leg of their Champions League tie with Napoli, which is very bad news for their hopes of going far in the competition.