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Portugal national team defender Deco has joined the group of players who will not play in the crucial Sunday match due to a leg muscle strain.
Deco, who suffered the injury during Thursday's training session, will join Barcelona's midfield engine featuring the world's best player, Brazilian Ronaldinho, and young Argentine prodigy Lionel Messi.
L. Messi suffered a muscle injury in last weekend's match against Madrid's "Atletico," which Barcelona unexpectedly lost 3-1, and will be out for about ten days. Meanwhile, Ronaldinho will also be unavailable due to suspension received for a red card in the King's Cup quarter-final match against "Zaragoza." Although the Catalan super club filed an appeal, both reviewing bodies rejected it.
On Sunday, against "Valencia," defenders Thiago Motta and Xavi, who have long been sidelined due to injuries, will also not play. However, there is good news in Barcelona's camp: F. Rijkaard will rely on the most prolific scorer in the Spanish league, Samuel Eto'o, who has returned from the African Nations Cup, as well as Brazilians Edmilson and Juliano Belletti.
