FC Barcelona confirms injury to first team star that means season-ending

FC Barcelona has confirmed on its official website that the injury to a rising star of the first team could mean the end of the 2024/2025 season.

“The tests carried out on Wednesday showed that the player Marc Bernal has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and an associated injury to the lateral meniscus,” a statement began.

“He will undergo surgery in the coming days and we will provide an update once this is completed,” it added. It was also pointed out that Bernal started a 2-1 comeback win against Rayo Vallecano, but was “involved in a passage of play in injury time that resulted in him having to leave the game due to injury.”

Barca described the development as “a setback for the young midfielder, who has started all three league games for the Blaugrana so far this season.”

As usual, the club has not given a timeframe for recovery and has given fans no idea when they might see Bernal back in action.

However, a cruciate ligament tear is one of the most serious injuries a footballer can suffer and in Bernal’s case it was described by many as season-ending, including AS Correspondent Javi Miguel.

On X, when the news of the injury by SPORTMiguel tweeted that there was “absolute pessimism” about Bernal's predicament and that if the suspicion of a cruciate ligament injury is confirmed, the youngster could say:goodbye for the rest of the season”.

His coach Hansi Flick certainly cut a grim figure after the final whistle on Tuesday evening in Vallecas, after his team had once again come from behind to beat Rayo.

Instead of being happy about being the first Barca head coach since Ernesto Valverde in the 2018/2019 championship season to record three opening victories in a season, the German DAZN Spain that it was a “sad” triumph because of Bernal’s injury.

“This is not good and the dressing room is very affected. He played a great game and his situation hurts us a lot,” added Flick.

Flick was seen consoling Bernal after the final whistle before the youngster was filmed getting off the ground on crutches.

He has undoubtedly been the 17-year-old's biggest supporter in the professional arena so far, first taking him on a pre-season tour of the USA and then letting Bernal play as a pivot three times in a row in the current 2024/2025 La Liga season.

Hopefully Bernal can return before the end of the season, but similar injuries to Gavi suggest he could be out for up to a year.

Gavi tore his cruciate ligament during an international match with Spain last November and, despite frequent training recently, has still not played in a competitive match.

Flick will try to compensate for Bernal’s absence internally, according to SPORTwho expect him to field Marc Casado or Pau Prim as a replacement in a 4-2-3-1 that has been very successful so far.