Barcelona without Mathieu for three weeks

Barcelona defender Jeremy Mathieu faces a three-week spell on the sidelines after suffering a calf injury in their 1-0 Supercopa de Catalunya defeat at the hands of Espanyol.

Mathieu featured from the start in Tuesday’s encounter, but was withdrawn in the 54th minute after sustaining the problem.

The Frenchman underwent a series of tests on Wednesday and Barcelona have now announced he will be unavailable for an estimated three weeks.

“Test conducted by the medical services on Wednesday morning have revealed that Jeremy Mathieu has injured the soleus in his right leg, which means he is going to be sidelined for an estimated three weeks,” a statement on the Catalans’ official website reads.

Defender Jérémy Mathieu will be side-lined through injury for about three weeks https://t.co/4Ak7OkkIuG FCBlive pic.twitter.com/DjBeKuG7r0

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 26, 2016

The 32-year-old has made six appearances in all competitions for Barcelona this term, scoring once in the process.

He received a red card in their 4-0 Champions League win over Manchester City last week.

Mathieu joins fellow defenders Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba on the sidelines, with the latter two suffering injuries against City.