Junior Firpo ruled out of Inter clash, as Barcelona woes grow
Ernesto Valverde has more decisions to make after the 23-year old suffered further injury ahead of Champions League tie at the Camp Nou.
Injuries may be just one of those things for a manager to deal with, but that will be of little confort right now to Barcelona's Ernesto Valverde.
Barça's Firpo out for Inter clash
The Catalan club are facing a full-back crisis ahead of their Champions League clash with Inter after Junior Firpo was ruled out with a hamstring injury. The 23-year-old had tests after feeling discomfort during training on Tuesday, which have confirmed he has muscle damage.
First-choice left-back Jordi Alba (hamstring) was already unavailable due to injury, as was Samuel Umtiti (foot), another possible option on the left of Valverde's defence.
With Junior out, it means Barça will likely have to field either Nelson Semedo or Sergi Roberto at left-back, with Clement Lenglet and Gerard Pique expected to start at centre-back. Valverde could also bring in 20-year-old right-back Moussa Wague, who has twice been on the bench for Barça in LaLiga this season, or central defender Jean-Clair Todibo as makeshift options on the left.
Barça, Inter, Borussia Dortmund and Slavia Prague all have one point after the first round of matches in Group F.
The blaugrana have lost only one of their past nine matches against Inter, who have been beaten in five of their last six visits to Camp Nou. But many expect this to be a serious test, with the Spanish champions not having the best start to the season, and Inter flying high in Serie A.