Barcelona reveal injury diagnosis for previously indestructible defender | OneFootball

Barcelona defender Jules Kounde suffered a confirmed hamstring injury during Wednesday night's Champions League semi-final first leg against Inter.

Kounde has developed a reputation for his undying availability this season, playing 53 times for Barcelona and eight for France. The full-back hadn't missed a single fixture for club or country until being rested for last weekend's La Liga win over Mallorca.

But just 42 minutes into the 3-3 draw with Inter, which leaves the Catalans at a slight disadvantage ahead of next week's return leg in Milan, Kounde was forced off. Afterwards, he told reporters in the mixed zone: "I'm not feeling good at all."

A Barcelona statement on Thursday explained that tests carried out earlier in the day had revealed a "distal hamstring injury" in his left leg. The club offered no timeframe on his likely recovery, but early reports have suggested he could miss around three weeks – most of the rest of the season.

Kounde limped out of the Inter game on Wednesday / David Ramos/GettyImages

In that scenario, Kounde would likely be ruled out of five games, including the second leg against Inter next Tuesday night and a crunch Clasico with Real Madrid five days after.

Barcelona hold a four-point lead in La Liga, but that home Clasico is Madrid's last big opportunity to claw the deficit back to one point and therefore only a single game. But, should Hansi Flick's win, the title race would be all but mathematically over in Barca's favour.

Kounde might only return for the last game of the domestic season, against Athletic Club at San Mames on 25 May. If Barcelona have made it to the Champions League final, he would also vitally be fit for that in Munich's Allianz Arena on 31 May.

In Kounde's absence, Eric Garcia completed the first leg against Inter at right-back. He was favoured over Ronald Araujo, who came on at half-time anyway in place of the struggling Gerard Martin. Homegrown teenager Hector Fort is another option, but mostly untested.

Alejandro Balde didn't pass his fitness test to feature against Inter but is expected to return imminently, which will at least strengthen the left side of the back four.