Barcelona’s miserable week showed no signs of abating as the club confirmed that Ivan Rakitic had fractured his hand during their 0-3 loss to Roma that led to their exit from the UEFA Champions League and the Croatian will be undergoing surgery on Wednesday itself.
“During the course of Tuesday’s match, Ivan Rakitic took a hit to the first finger of his left hand. This morning’s tests have confirmed that he has a fractured metacarpal bone,” a club statement read.
“The Croatian will undergo surgery this evening, after which a statement will be issued to explain how the operation went and how long the player is expected to be out of action,” the club added.
After their 4-1 victory in the first leg at the Nou Camp, the Catalans were heavy favourites to reach their first semi-final in three years but the Giallarossi stormed back in the second leg to register one of the biggest comebacks in UEFA Champions League history.
Despite suffering the injury during the tie with the Italian outfit in Rome, Rakitic managed to complete the full 90 minutes and La Blaugrana faithful will hope the Croatian returns to first-team action without much delay.
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The 30-year-old has already made 39 starts for Ernesto Valverde’s men and is a key member of their squad.
With their continental exit, Barcelona are now in contention for silverware on two fronts—the Copa del Rey and the Spanish La Liga.
The Spanish league is theirs to lose as they currently lead second-placed Atletico Madrid by 11 points with just seven games left while they take on Sevilla in the final of the Copa del Rey on April 21.
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Rakitic is almost certainly expected to miss this weekend’s clash with Valencia in the La Liga, but an official timetable is expected to be announced once the surgery is completed.