Gerard Pique
Gerard Pique has missed the last two training sessions Getty

KEY POINTS

  • Rafinha, Aleix Vidal and Jeremy Mathieu are also unavailable due to injuries.
  • Sergi Roberto will miss the trip to the Canary Islands through suspension.
  • Lucas Digne is also a doubt after suffering a hamstring injury against Villarreal.

Barcelona star Gerard Pique is reportedly a "serious doubt" to face Las Palmas on Sunday (14 May) after having missed the past two training sessions due to an illness. AS claims that Luis Enrique is facing a major headache in forming his defence as Sergi Roberto, Jeremy Mathieu and Aleix Vidal are also ruled out for the trip to the Canary Islands while the participation of Lucas Digne is uncertain.

The La Liga giants have won their past five league games to keep the pressure on Real Madrid in the battle for La Liga.

Barcelona are now currently leading the table thanks to the head-head-record but Real Madrid can turnaround the situation in the remaining three games as they still have one game in hand.

Pique has started all those five games as he has not missed a league game since the Barcelona last defeat in Malaga on 8 April.

But AS is reporting that his participation at Las Palmas is in serious risk after having missed the past two training sessions.

Barcelona have not officially disclosed the reasons behind his absence but the Spanish publication claims that sources from the club say that the centre-back suffers a general discomfort which could be related to a virus.

The situation is especially concerning for Luis Enrique as Samuel Umtiti, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba are the only three defenders that are completely fit.

Nevertheless, Digne has been training with the rest of his teammates but AS suggests that the left-back is still a doubt to face Las Palmas after being forced off during the weekend's win over Villarreal. Yet, on Monday Barcelona confirmed that the Frenchman had suffered a "hamstring" injury and they have not given an official update since.

So Barcelona could be without up to six players to face Las Palmas as Sergi Roberto is suspended while Jeremy Mathieu remains in the treatment room alongside long-term casualties Aleix Vidal and Rafinha.

Luis Enrique was expected to use Javier Mascherano in the right-back to cover the absences of Sergi Roberto and Vidal. However, if Pique and Digne are unavailable, the boss could be forced to return to a 3-4-3 formation with the former Liverpool defender Umtiti and Jordi Alba forming the back-line.

Nevertheless, the Barcelona boss could also give a chance to Marlon from the second team as the Brazilian centre-back trained with the first team on Friday alongside Kaptoum and Carle Aleñá.

One way or another, the Catalans cannot afford a new defeat at Las Palmas and will also be hoping that Real Madrid drop points in their corresponding fixture against Sevilla to give them a boost in the title race.