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Barcelona captain Sergi Roberto has added to Xavi’s injury problems ahead of Tuesday’s crunch Champions League tie with Napoli.
Roberto had been tipped to start in midfield against Napoli as Barca are without Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Gavi due to injury. However, according to Mundo Deportivo, the plan will not be actualized when the Blaugrana take the field on Tuesday evening due to the Spaniard lacking match sharpness. The situation means Xavi only has three fit senior midfielders available in Ilkay Gundogan, Oriol Romeu and Fermin Lopez.
Barcelona have struggled all season long with fitness problems, particularly in midfield. The club has only seen four players avoid any injuries so far this season in the form of Ilkay Gundogan, Oriol Romeu, Fermin Lopez and Inaki Pena.
Only recently, the club suffered a double injury blow when they lost De Jong and Pedri in the first half of their clash against Athletic Club at San Mames.
Roberto received the green light from the medical team before the first leg against Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, however, the 32-year-old hasn’t actually featured yet due to a lack of sharpness.
The lack of match sharpness may force academy graduate to stay on the bench at least for the start of the game on Tuesday, March 12. However, Xavi may look to bring on the experienced midfielder in the clash in the second half depending on the context of the game.
