Barcelona suffer huge blow as captain and Spain hero Alexia Putellas ruled out with ankle injury

The Spanish midfielder sprained her left ankle during a training session on Saturday and will remain sidelined for up to three weeks, as confirmed by the Catalan giants. The injury will keep Putellas out of their upcoming Liga F matches against Espanyol on Sunday and Madrid CFF on February 16. They also face the Madrid club in midweek in the Women's Champions League.

The official statement from the club read: "First team women's player Alexia Putellas sprained her left ankle during training this Saturday. The approximate time of absence is 3 weeks."

Putellas' injury comes as a major blow for Pere Romeu's side as the 31-year-old midfielder has been in red-hot form in the 2024/25 campaign. She has scored 15 goals in 21 matches across all competitions and has nine strikes to her name in the league, which makes her the joint third-highest goalscorer along with Real Madrid's Signe Bruun.

Barcelona, who have a two-point lead at the top of the table over rivals Real Madrid with a game in hand, will aim to extend their lead as they face Espanyol in a Liga F away fixture on Sunday.