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Barcelona's Alejandro Balde suffers hamstring injury; doubt for Copa del Rey final

Barcelona's Alejandro Balde suffers hamstring injury; doubt for Copa del Rey final

New York Times13-04-2025

Barcelona defender Alejandro Balde is a doubt for the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid after suffering an injury to his left hamstring.
The left-back suffered the injury in Saturday's La Liga victory at Leganes, having to be replaced in the 41st minute by Gerard Martin.
Balde is now set to miss the second leg of Barca's Champions League quarter-final tie against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, which Hansi Flick's side lead 4-0, alongside the upcoming La Liga matches against Celta Vigo and Real Mallorca.
The 21-year-old, who has started 39 matches across all competitions this season, will hope to return to fitness for the Copa final against Madrid on April 26.
Tests carried out on Sunday morning on the first team player Alejandro Balde confirm that he has a distal injury to his left hamstring. His return to action with the first team will depend on his recovery. pic.twitter.com/vgoEsQZ0tF
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 13, 2025
Barca's win at Leganes moved them seven points clear at the top of La Liga ahead of second-place Madrid, who have the chance to reduce the gap on Sunday with their trip to Alaves.
Flick is on course to win a treble in his first season in charge of Barca, with his side well-placed domestically and in the Champions League.
Barca won four successive Copa del Rey titles between 2015 and 2018 but have won just one of the last six, winning the 2021 final against Athletic Club of Bilbao.
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