FC Barcelona’s injury woes continued when French center-back Jules Kounde was substituted in the first half of Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Granada. The defender adds himself to the injury list of FC Barcelona which includes, Robert Lewandowski, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, and Raphinha ahead of the international break.
The defender was replaced by Ronald Araujo in the match after a first-half substitution. The Spanish club gave an update via an official statement. The statement read: “Jules Kounde has sprained the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee, and the French defender will be unable to play until the injury heals. This also means he will miss out on playing for his country during the international break.”
🚨🚨🎖️| BREAKING: Juels Kounde is out for 5 WEEKS. He will miss the El Clasico. [@tjuanmarti] #fcblive pic.twitter.com/98y1DXxsfQ
— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) October 9, 2023
The statement didn’t give an exact return date for the French defender, however, as per Toni Juanmartí, Kounde is set to miss at least five weeks of action which will keep him out in the highly anticipated El Clásico on October 28.
Kounde has been ever present this season for FC Barcelona, with 11 appearances in all competitions, including 10 starts. He celebrated his 50th appearance for the club in midweek against Porto in the Champions League, where he was impressive once again.
🚨🌕| Latest update on El Clasico:
• Jules Koundé will 100% miss it.
• Frenkie De Jong & Lewandowski are very unlikely to be available.
• Raphinha & Pedri can be fit, but still too early. @tjuanmarti pic.twitter.com/HRwwpwfDQs— Managing Barça (@ManagingBarca) October 9, 2023
The injury is a major blow for the Spanish club ahead of El Clásico as they fight to regain the top spot in La Liga. They are three points away from league leaders, Real Madrid, who sit at the top with 24 points. FC Barcelona is currently in third place behind Real Madrid and Girona.
Injury record of Jules Kounde
The French defender has a fantastic injury record in his professional career. The 24-year-old has been only injured with four different injuries in the last three seasons. The impeccable injury record was one of the factors for FC Barcelona to bring Kounde in from Sevilla.
In these four injuries, Kounde has missed only 11 games for club and country. One of these issues was COVID-19 back in the 2020/21 season, which kept him out for 12 days for Sevilla.
We’re in October, and we’ve lost 5 key starters, two of those include our best performers of the season (FDJ & Koundé).
Such destabilising circumstances, man. Xavi’s been here for over two seasons, and I doubt he’s had a fully fit squad for more than 2/3 games. Ridiculous.
— Neal 🇦🇺 (@NealGardner_) October 9, 2023
Since signing for FC Barcelona, the French defender has been out for only eight games for the club. During last season, he made 40 appearances for the Spanish club in all competitions. He was pivotal in securing La Liga title by playing in center-back and right-back positions.
The defender will be a big miss for FC Barcelona as they have three tough fixtures in the league back to back. After the international break, Barcelona is set to host Athletic Bilbao. Following that, they will welcome league leader Real Madrid for El Clásico. Finally, they travel to Real Sociedad in a trick away tight.
The following few weeks are critical for Barcelona as they navigate these tough fixtures. Without favorable results in these league fixtures, Barcelona can find themselves with a huge gap with Real Madrid for the league title in early November.
