Rakitic in doubt for Eibar clash

Ivan Rakitic is a major doubt for Barcelona ahead of Sunday’s Liga clash with Eibar.

The Croatia international has been a key figure for the Catalan giants again this season, making 43 appearances in all competitions and scoring six goals.

But he picked up a foot injury in Thursday’s 5-1 win at Rayo Vallecano and coach Luis Enrique has revealed that the 27-year-old midfielder is struggling to recover in time for the trip to Ipurua.

“He had a swelling in a nasty area, the instep of the foot, which you hit the ball with, so it’s very painful,” he said.

“Yesterday the doctor said it would be better for him to train separately. I’d imagine the swelling has gone down, but we’ll see how much.

“Those parts of the foot can really make it very awkward to play.”

Luis Enrique may well be reluctant to gamble on Rakitic’s fitness given that Barcelona have several key games on the horizon, including the return leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Arsenal and a Clasico clash with Real Madrid.