As if the last minute equalizer against Paris Saint-Germain wasn't enough, Barcelona received another blow after the match. Defender Javier Mascherano will miss a month and half after injuring his right knee in the draw against PSG.
Javier Mascherano injury: Defender facing six weeks out with an MCL tear
Barcelona’s defensive problems were compounded today with the news that Javier Mascherno will face six weeks out after tearing the MCL in his right knee
Dean Mouhtaropoulos
According to Barcelona's official twitter account, the defender was diagnosed with an MCL tear after the match in Paris and will be facing six weeks out. Unless they've misidentified the ligament, the six-week timeframe makes it appear this is a partial tear of the ligament. All full MCL tear would have likely put and end to Mascherano's season.
Mascherano tiene una rotura del ligamento lateral interno de la rodilla derecha. El tiempo aproximado de baja es de 6 semanas #FCBlive
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) April 2, 2013
This is not good news at all for Tito Vilanova, who is already missing Carles Puyol for an extended period after he underwent knee surgery last week.
More from our team blogs: FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes
The Barcelona head coach, who just returned from cancer treatments in New York, will now have to juggle his back line as the Blaugrana attempt to finish winning the La Liga title and try to advance to the semifinals of the Champions League.
Having a 13-point advantage in the league will help, but the likes of Marc Bartra, Alex Song, Sergio Busquets and Eric Abidal will be under considerable pressure over the next two months.
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