Barcelona are facing a centre-back crisis for their La Liga match against Osasuna next week, with Inigo Martinez, Pau Cubarsi, Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen potentially all missing the rescheduled fixture.
The Catalan giants had initially been set to face Osasuna on March 8, but the contest was postponed shortly before kickoff following the tragic news that Barcelona’s first-team doctor Carles Minarro Garcia had passed away.
La Liga have controversially rescheduled the game for March 27, and as it stands, Araujo will miss the game due to international commitments, as he is set to represent Uruguay in a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Bolivia on March 25.
There is believed to be a chance that Araujo could be allowed to miss the game in order to return to his club, but for the moment, the 26-year-old will be unavailable for selection.
Martinez, meanwhile, is a major doubt with the knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the Spain squad.
The centre-back’s issue is not as serious as first feared, but it would be a surprise to see him feature against Osasuna, especially with Barcelona having some huge matches in the early stages of April.
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Martinez, Cubarsi, Araujo, Christensen ‘could all miss Osasuna clash’
Cubarsi picked up an ankle injury during Spain’s UEFA Nations League quarter-final first leg against the Netherlands on Thursday night, which led to him withdrawing from the squad ahead of Sunday’s return match.
The centre-back is therefore also a major doubt to face Osasuna, while it is understood that Christensen is still not ready to feature, as he continues to recover from his latest injury problem.
The Denmark international has only played once this season due to a long-term Achilles problem, while he has also recently been sidelines with a muscular injury.
According to Sport, Christensen has not yet fully recovered and will therefore miss out against Osasuna.
As a result, Eric Garcia could be the team’s only senior centre-back available for selection, which could potentially mean that Frenkie de Jong is asked to drop into the middle of the defence, although Sergi Dominguez is also an option from the B outfit.
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