Barcelona defender Mascherano out for a month with hamstring injury; Messi, Rakitic back to training

Camp Nou, Nov 16: Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano will be sidelined for at least a month with a hamstring injury after the defender suffered the damage during Argentina's last international encounter against Nigeria, the club said on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old played the full match in the game where Argentina lost the match 4-2 to the Nigerians in Krasnodar on Tuesday, however, the defender received the injury news later after evaluation by the medical board.

Barcelona said in a statement: "During the Argentina-Nigeria friendly match played [on Tuesday], first team player Javier Mascherano had a fibrillar tear in the femoral biceps of his right leg.

"This is confirmed by the tests carried out this morning at the Ciudad Deportiva medical centre. The approximate time of withdrawal is four weeks.

"It should be remembered that Mascherano played the 90 minutes in the defeat of Argentina against Nigeria (2-4).

"[He] has played this season a total of 10 games, six in the league, one in the Copa del Rey, two in the Champions League and one in the Spanish Super Cup."

The unavailability of the versatile player will now see Ernesto Valverde addressing his team only with two senior centre-backs Gerard Pique and French defender Samuel Umtiti for the upcoming fixtures.

Mascherano will miss Barcelona's last two Champions League match against Juventus on November 22 and afterwards Sporting Lisbon on December 5. However, the team will expect that the senior player will be available ahead of their high voltage El Clasico which will take place on December 23.

But, apart from the injury news, the Catalan received a much welcome boost ahead of the weekend game as both Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic arrived in training Wednesday after both the players reportedly endured a knock in their last international match.

Barcelona are currently four points clear of second-placed Valencia at the top of the standings and will look for a fourth straight win against Leganes in an away match on Saturday.