Luis Enrique has confirmed Barcelona are considering their options after Aleix Vidal’s injury
Barcelona were dealt a blow after Aleix Vidal suffered a horrific injury during their 6-0 victory over Alaves on Saturday. Barcelona are now once again left without a specialist right-back and will be forced to play midfielder Sergi Roberto once more, where the 25-year old has primarily featured this season.
Vidal was left with a dislocated ankle after a crunching tackle from Alaves left-back Theo Hernandez and had to be stretchered off. Barcelona later confirmed that Vidal would miss the rest of the season and perhaps some of next season.
Barcelona could sign an emergency right-back even though the window is closed as Spanish rules allow clubs to sign players in these situations as long as they are – a) Either Spanish or a free agent and b) Only play in Spanish matches.
Enrique has now confirmed that Barcelona are considering their options regarding a new right-back although he didn’t go into detail about whether or not they would be looking for a stop-gap under the provisions mentioned above, or whether they would wait until the summer.
“Aleix is already on the process to recovery. It’s a question of trying to get better on a day-to-day basis,” he said, according to FourFourTwo. “This is the first phase now, which is perhaps more tranquil but more difficult for the player.”
“It is a player who we are going to miss considerably because we don’t have the biggest of squads. It is an option we are considering and we will see if we can find someone that suits us.”
The injury is definitely a big blow to Barcelona as their squad is already quite thin in that area. Vidal at one point looked like he would not play for the club and be sold in January. But he had started putting in some impressive performances over the last few games and looked like he could play an important part in Barcelona’s season.
Javier Mascherano has played at right-back before but after the injury to Sergio Busquets, has been playing in midfield more often of late. The Argentine also has had recurring injury issues this season which might be a bit of a risk of Enrique.
Barcelona have already been linked with a number of right-backs in the summer – including Valencia’s Joao Cancelo – but Enrique could be tempted to sign a stop-gap for the rest of the season as Barcelona look to challenge on several fronts.
There are a few players out there who fit the provisions required for Barcelona to sign them immediately. One of the most interesting options is actually a former Barcelona player, Martin Caceres who has been out of contract since the summer.
Caceres was plying his trade with Juventus but a series of injuries meant the Bianconeri opted not to renew his contract in the summer. He is currently a free agent and would represent a solid, experienced option for Barcelona to rely on until this summer.
