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"Trouble doesn't come alone," - probably thought most of the fans when they found out that the Argentine Javier Saviola had become the third forward of the Catalan superclub, experiencing an injury.
"Saviola tore his left thigh muscle. It is estimated that he will not be able to play for four to six weeks," - said on Monday on the "Barcelona" website.
The 24-year-old slender forward suffered the injury in Sunday's 3-1 victory against "Zaragoza". In that match, after coming on as a substitute, J. Saviola was a very noticeable figure on the field - first, after a tackle against him, opponent defender Gabriel Milito was sent off the field, then after a penalty earned by him, the hosts were led forward by Brazilian Ronaldinho, and during extra time, the Argentine himself scored a goal, when he quickly reacted to a loose ball after Ronaldinho's penalty hit the crossbar and guided it into the net with his head.
J. Saviola joined the other two injured "Barcelona" forwards: the most productive player of the last season, Cameroonian Samuel Eto'o will not play until at least next year due to a cruciate ligament injury, and in Sunday's match, the foot bone of the young Lionel Messi was fractured, requiring surgery that will keep him out for about three months.
Until the new year, "Barcelona" will only have four players who can play in the trio of the club's forwards: Ronaldinho, summer signing Eidur Gudjohnsen, Frenchman Ludovic Giuly, and Basque Santiago Ezquerro.
Furthermore, for about ten days, "Barcelona" will be without Brazilian defender Juliano Belletti and defender Edmilson, who twisted his ankle on Sunday. Spain national team defender Xavi has also not returned to the field after his injury.
Additionally, on Monday, from the Spain national team camp preparing for a friendly match against Romania, defender Andres Iniesta withdrew due to inflammation of the left Achilles tendon, which is not considered a serious injury.
"Barcelona" is facing very important matches in the UEFA Champions League Group A in the near future, where the club currently occupies only third place. They have two matches left: against Sofia's "Levski" and Bremen's "Werder". It is the latter team that has real chances to eliminate the European champions from this prestigious tournament already in the group stage.
