Barcelona suffered a huge blow in their La Liga clash against Athletic Club as veteran defender Gerard Pique left the field injured. The Spanish centre back was reportedly not completely fit ahead of the game but was chosen in the starting line-up by manager Ronald Koeman and lasted only half-hour in a game where the Catalans rescued a point after Memphis Depay’s first goal for the club. Memphis Depay Scores First Goal As Barcelona Rescue Point at San Mames.

Gerard Pique dealt with two major injuries last season, which saw him make only 23 appearances in all competitions for the club and the defender’s struggles continued this term as well as he was had to be substituted in only the second game of the campaign due to an injury.

In his pre-match conference, Ronald Koeman stated that the 34-year-old had some ‘minor discomforts’ but trained normally. Following the game, Barcelona in an official statement confirmed that the defender has some discomfort in his left calf and further tests will determine the amount of time Gerard Pique will spend on the sidelines.

The centre-back went down after an aerial duel with Alex Berenguer at the half-hour mark of the clash in Bilbao at San Mames. He was taken off shortly afterwards and replaced by 22-year-old Ronald Araujo, making it the sixth time in his last 13 La Liga starts that the defender has been subbed off due to injury, as many as in his previous 111 starting XI appearances.

Gerard Pique’s last season was also plagued with injuries as he was kept out for four months with a knee injury in the middle of the campaign but lasted less than a month before being ruled out with another issue.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 22, 2021 09:47 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).