Injured Pique ruled out for three weeks

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has been ruled out for three weeks with the ankle injury he suffered in the 4-0 Champions League win over Manchester City.

It was initially anticipated the centre-back would miss around 10 days of action, but he now faces three weeks on the sidelines, making him unavailable for LaLiga matches against Valencia, Granada and Sevilla, as well as the return Champions League clash with City.

Jordi Alba, meanwhile will miss two weeks having re-aggravated a hamstring problem, which was the initial expectation after he limped off against City.

That means he may be fit in time to play at the Etihad Stadium on November 1 and – barring any setbacks – will almost certainly be ready to face Sevilla on November 6.

Barca released a statement on Friday saying: “Both players were examined by team doctors after the match and were then re-evaluated on Thursday morning.

“Alba was replaced by Lucas Digne early in the first half after pulling up lame with what has been diagnosed as a strained left hamstring. He is expected to be out around two weeks.

“Pique was injured later in the first half after a tackle from David Silva and, after attempting to play through the pain, was replaced.

“He has been diagnosed with sprained ligaments in his right ankle and is expected to be out for around three weeks.”