Barcelona gets hit with more Covid cases as La Liga crisis spreads

FC Barcelona is now well and truly dealing with an internal Covid-19 crisis, with at least four players testing positive and another awaiting results. On Tuesday, the club confirmed that Alejandro Balde has joined the list of players in isolation after testing positive. Earlier this week, Dani Alves, Clement Lenglet and Jordi Alba already tested positive. Meanwhile, Ousmane Dembele is also in isolation as he awaits his latest RT-PCR test results.

Manager Xavi Hernandez has a real problem on his hands, especially now that Balde is sidelined. This means that he will need to find someone else to fill the left-back position, which Balde was supposed to cover for Alba.

The Blaugrana will be facing Real Mallorca on Sunday, and Xavi will need to dig deep into his squad to figure out the best selection. He will also be disappointed to be forced to push back the second debut of Dani Alves, who has already been waiting for almost two months to be eligible to play.

Up front, Barcelona was already short of players even without the Covid-19 problem. Sergio Aguero has been forced to retire while Ansu Fati and Memphis Depay are both dealing with fitness issues. Ousmane Dembele was finally easing back into competition after recovering from an injury, but Sport has revealed that he missed training after feeling unwell.

He has been tested and it remains to be seen if he will come out positive as well. If he does, Xavi will have a massive shortage up front. Even his new signing Ferran Torres is unavailable as he is still recovering from a fractured foot.

Pedri is back in training, but it is unclear if he is fit to start. Sergio Busquets, and Gavi are also sidelined, leaving Xavi with a very skeletal roster to choose from. With still a few days to go before the match, there's no telling if any more players will soon test positive.

Real Mallorca have also started reporting their own positive cases, and with the likes of Real Madrid also hit hard, it remains to be seen if cancellations and restrictions will soon be put in place by La Liga.