Barcelona will not be able to have all their footballers around for the crunch tie between themselves and Real Madrid after the worst fears were confirmed by the team's medical staff.
For a few weeks now, Barça fans had known that Ousmané Dembelé was not going to be around for this game, but after recovering Jordi Alba and Nelson Semedo, there were other players that needed to earn an adequate fitness level. Today, Barcelona's medical services confirmed a second injury absentee, as Arthur Melo will not be around to face Los Blancos.
Melo has been dealing with groin problems for the better part of the season, and the Brazilian ace has been ruled out for Wednesday's game and for their clash against Alavés next weekend. If things go as planned, Arthur will return to the pitch on January 4, when Los Blaugranas face Espanyol.
The main problem for the South American footballer is that members of the team's hierarchy have started to question his off-the-pitch decisions, which may have had an effect on his health. A recent report placed Arthur snowboarding in Andorra, and this extreme sport may have worsened his current condition.
The playmaker has failed to fill the void left by Andrés Iniesta, and making himself unavailable for games as big as the one taking place on Wednesday may see his time at Camp Nou cut short.
