Rival watch: Inter Milan key forward ruled out of Barcelona semi-final clash | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are in a celebratory mood after beating bitter enemies Real Madrid 3-2 to lift the Copa del Rey trophy on Saturday night.

Winning the second trophy of the season certainly calls for a big celebration but Barça cannot take their eye off the ball as there is still plenty left to play for them.

Up next for Hansi Flick & co. is the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Inter Milan at home in Montjuic.

The Nerazzurri have what it takes to complicate matters for Barcelona and with the second leg set to be played in Milan, the Blaugrana must try and take a big advantage in the home game.

No Marcus Thuram for Inter

Leading up to the match on Wednesday, Barcelona have been handed a major boost as Inter Milan are set to be without key attacker Marcus Thuram.

This comes from journalist Pasquale Guarro, who reports that the French forward has not recovered in time for Inter’s trip to Catalonia next week.

No Thuram for Inter against Barcelona. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The 27-year-old Thuram picked up a muscle injury earlier this month which has led to him missing the Nerazzurri’s last two fixtures against Bologna and AC Milan (Coppa Italia), while he is also ruled out of today’s league game vs AS Roma.

As per the report, Thuram only started jogging in Saturday’s training session and as such, the medical department’s hopes of having him fit and ready for the trip to Barcelona have fully faded.

Thuram’s absence in the game next week comes as a big boost for Barcelona given that he was in brilliant form this season. The French international has racked up 17 goals and nine assists, forming a brilliant partnership with Lautaro Martinez.

The report further states that the attacker might even miss Inter’s next league game against Verona and that his comeback might have to wait until the UCL semi-final second leg against Barcelona on 6 May in Milan.