Gerard Piqué set to miss Barcelona's game against Las Palmas | OneFootball

Gerard Piqué will sit out Barcelona’s trip to Las Palmas on Thursday in a bid to overcome his troublesome knee injury.

The centre-back has been playing through the pain ever since he took a knock during the draw with Espanyol three weeks ago and was substituted in the second half of Saturday’s 6-1 win over Girona.

According to Catalan outlet Sport, the 31-year-old will not be risked for the visit to Estadio Gran Canaria in a bid to return to full fitness in time for the huge upcoming fixtures against Atlético Madrid, Málaga and Chelsea.

And if Piqué is left at home, Ernesto Valverde is likely to partner Samuel Umtiti and Thomas Vermaelen together at the heart of his defence.

Vermaelen replaced Piqué for the final 26 minutes on Saturday night but the Belgian has only played alongside Umtiti for a total of 90 minutes, meaning their selection represents something of a risk.

On Sunday, Barcelona confirmed right-back Nélson Semedo will be out for up to five weeks with a hamstring injury and is likely to be replaced in the team by Sergi Roberto.