We are just two weeks away from the season’s first El Clasico, as Real Madrid look to exact revenge on Barcelona after succumbing to four defeats last season.
Heading into this game, however, both teams are struggling with injuries and are evenly matched on paper.
Barcelona, in particular, have been dealt with a series of injury blows over the past four weeks, with the likes of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Fermin Lopez, Dani Olmo and Joan Garcia all picking up recent knocks.
While the likes of Yamal, Raphinha and Fermin might return in time for the Real Madrid clash, a recent report from Diario AS suggests that Joan Garcia has been completely ruled out of El Clasico.
This comes on the back of an earlier update given by the player himself, as he confirmed that it will take at least a month before he returns to full fitness.
The report cites the same update, adding that Garcia won’t be available for action at least until November 5, when Barcelona are slated to take on Club Brugge.
Joan Garcia’s absence from El Clasico could serve as a massive boost for Real Madrid as it practically means Barcelona will have to operate without their primary goalkeeper.
Not to mention, Garcia was in terrific form before picking up an injury, leaving Barcelona to make do with Wojciech Szczesny as their main goalkeeper.
Although Szczesny is no slouch, not having someone like Garcia defending the Barcelona goal could be beneficial for Kylian Mbappe as he looks to continue his goalscoring form.