Espart out for seven weeks as Barça injury list grows to five

📰 The Clásico defeat has brought an injury blow too: 19-year-old Xavi Espart is out for seven weeks, taking Barça's injury list to five. 📌 Key points 🩹 Defender Xavi Espart, 19, will miss around seven weeks with an ankle injury. ⏱️ He went off before the half-hour of the Clásico, replaced by Baldé. 🏥 Koundé, Eric Garcia, Christensen and Olmo are already sidelined. 📉 Barça lost to PSG and then Real Madrid in the space of a week. 📅 Espart will also miss the trip to Atlético on 8 November. 📝 What happened 🩹 Barcelona announced on 26 October that full-back Xavi Espart has an ankle injury and will be out for 'around seven weeks'. He was hurt before the 30th minute of the 25 October Clásico at Camp Nou and replaced by Alejandro Baldé. 🏥 He is far from alone. Jules Koundé, Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen and Dani Olmo are already on the injury list, leaving Hansi Flick short of defensive options. 📉 Results have turned too. Barça lost to PSG in the Champions League that week, then fell 2-1 to Real Madrid as Kylian Mbappé scored twice, ending their nine-game winning start in LaLiga. 'You saw today, we lacked freshness,' Flick said. 'We have to analyse, we have to make things better.' 📊 By the numbers • Espart's expected absence: around seven weeks • Players injured: 5 (Espart, Koundé, Eric Garcia, Christensen, Olmo) • League lead: 2 points over Atlético, 3 over Real Madrid 🔭 Why it matters Two defeats in a week and a shrinking back line have complicated Barça's response. Espart misses this weekend's game against Alavés, the Champions League home game with Aston Villa on 3 November and the trip to Atlético on 8 November. How Flick patches up his defence before facing the side two points behind them is the key question.