Jordi Alba has handed Barcelona an untimely injury blow after being forced off inside 22 minutes of their home date with Getafe due to an adductor injury.
The Blaugrana left-back was replaced by Junior Firpo early on at Camp Nou and he headed straight down the tunnel for treatment.
Quique Setien was forced into shuffling his pack much earlier than he would have liked, and that may remain the case for upcoming fixtures.
Barca have important games approaching in domestic and European competition, with Setien's side due to take in the first leg of a Champions League last-16 encounter with Napoli on February 25.
That contest will be followed by an eagerly-anticipated and potentially decisive trip to Clasico rivals Real Madrid on March 1.
It remains to be seen how severe the injury suffered by Alba will prove to be, with Barcelona undoubtedly hoping for positive updates from their medical department.
The reigning La Liga champions have already suffered a number of untimely knocks over recent weeks, with prolific frontman Luis Suarez finding himself stuck on the sidelines with a knee complaint .
The Uruguayan has been joined in the treatment room by Ousmane Dembele - the France international winger expected to be out of action for around six months with a hamstring problem, with his 2019-20 campaign brought to an abrupt halt.
Barcelona’s senior squad showed their support for their stricken team-mate against Getafe, meanwhile, with Setien’s side taking to the field on Saturday donning back-to-front Dembele shirts.
One of their fully fit frontmen eventually opened the scoring for Barca in their latest outing, with Antoine Griezmann breaking the deadlock a matter of minutes after Alba limped from the pitch.
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