Andres Iniesta will miss Barcelona’s Super Cup second leg through injury
Andres Iniesta will miss the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid through injury as Barcelona attempt to turn around a 3-1 deficit from the first leg.
Iniesta didn’t train on Tuesday due to a thigh problem and will not travel to Madrid with the rest of his teammates for Wednesday’s game.
Barca have not confirmed how long their club captain will be sidelined, but the injury is not thought to be serious.
Thomas Vermaelen and Rafinha will also miss the trip to the Santiago Bernabeu due to ongoing injury problems.
Arda Turan, Douglas, Sergi Samper and Munir El Haddadi have all been left out of the squad, too.
All four face uncertain futures at Camp Nou, with Ernesto Valverde confirming on Tuesday that Samper is available for loan and suggesting Turan does not feature in his plans.
Portuguese midfielder Andre Gomes returns from injury, though, and Barca B starlet Carles Alena is once again included in Valverde’s 19-man squad.
Late goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Marco Asensio gave Madrid a two-goal win in Sunday’s first leg after Lionel Messi had cancelled out Gerard Pique’s own goal.
Ronaldo was sent off after giving Madrid the lead, however, and will miss the second leg after being given a five-game ban for pushing the referee following his dismissal for a second booking.
In the other dugout, Zinedine Zidane will have Luka Modric back after the Croatian missed the weekend’s game at Camp Nou for a suspension he picked up in the 2014 Super Cup.
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