FC Barcelona captain Carles Puyol has been sidelined for up to eight weeks while he recovers from the dislocation of his left elbow suffered on Tuesday night in the Champions League clash with Benfica in Lisbon.
Puyol went in for a header but landed very awkwardly and trapped his left arm underneath his body. He was in obvious pain and was treated on the pitch but had to be stretchered off. He went off to a standing ovation from the Portuguese crowd who were obviously moved by the scenes.
After being treated in Lisbon, the Barca captain was allowed to fly back to Barcelona with his team-mates where he spent the night in hospital. The next day he was visited by Sandro Rosell and sporting director Adoni Zubizaretta who gave the player words of encouragement.
Carles Puyol tweeted:
“I want to thank everyone who looked after me in Portugal. I’ll soon be back to my best again! Thank you for all your messages – a big hug to all of you.”
It’s a real shame for Puyol as he has only just come back from a hamstring injury. It is even worse news for Barca coach Tito Vilanova who now has to face Real Madrid on Saturday without his captain. Not only that, defender Gerard Piqué is also ruled out due to a foot injury and Barca will have to fill their spaces with players who are not used to their positions and resort to the youngsters from the youth academy.
Barca beat Benfica 2 nil in Lisbon and it was a tough game for Barca. luckily, Chilean Alexis Sánchez was able to open the Lisbon side up with a fine 6th minute strike. The other goal came courtesy of Cesc Fabregás who decided the game in favour of the Catalan side.
Sergio Busquets will not be playing in the Celtic clash for receiving a red card for aggression.
