Soccer

Barcelona will be without Luis Suarez for a month

The former Liverpool striker was hurt during the second leg of the Supercopa final

Barcelona’s Luis Suarez during the Spanish Super Cup second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. Photograph: PA

Thu Aug 17 2017 - 15:24

Barcelona have suffered a blow on the eve of the new LaLiga season after Luis Suarez was ruled out for a month with a knee injury.

The former Liverpool striker was hurt during the second leg of the Supercopa de Espana against Real Madrid, which the capital club won 2-0 at the Bernabeu to clinch a 5-1 aggregate victory.

Suarez will definitely miss Barca's league opener against Real Betis and further fixtures against Alaves and Espanyol, with the trip to Getafe on September 17 representing a potential opportunity to return to action.

With the 30-year-old on the sidelines Barca's former 'MSN' frontline contains only Lionel Messi as Neymar recently made a world-record move to Paris St Germain.

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A statement published on Barca’s website on Thursday afternoon said medical tests on Suarez had revealed damage to the back of his right knee.

Defender Gerard Pique, meanwhile, has injured an adductor muscle and could also miss Sunday's meeting with Betis.

Reinforcements may be on their way, though, with Barca general manager Pep Segura on Wednesday claiming the signings of Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele, from Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund respectively, are "close". Although Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that there has been no contact with any representative of Barcelona, and the club's no-sell stance remains.

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