A considerable setback for Ronald Koeman in the run-up to Tuesday’s Champions League match with Bayern Munich. Various Spanish media, including Sport report on Sunday that Martin Braithwaite will be out of circulation for three to four months due to a persistent knee injury. The news about the Danish striker’s injury has not yet been officially announced by Barcelona.
According to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero, Braithwaite’s problems are related to wear and tear of the cartilage in the knee. The 30-year-old striker is not expected to play for Barcelona in 2021. Sport added that Braithwaite will undergo tests this Sunday to determine the exact nature of the injury. It is expected that more will be known on Monday about the length of the attacker’s absence.
Braithwaite was sacked early last week in the home game against Getafe (2-1 win). Koeman because of knee problems. Only now does it appear that the problems are a lot bigger than originally thought. Braithwaite got off to a brisk start to the season in LaLiga with two goals in the first three games.
It is bad news for Koeman, who already has few options from an attacking point of view. Sergio Aguero, Ousmane Dembele and Ansu Fati are not available due to various injuries. There seems to be a good chance that Luuk de Jong will start the attack at Barcelona on Tuesday against Bayern, although Koeman can also opt for Memphis Depay for that position.
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