Barcelona confirm double blow following Lionel Messi exit announcement

Lionel Messi may continue to dominate the headlines after Barcelona confirmed their talisman's exit but amidst all the furor, the Catalan club also confirmed a double injury blow ahead of the new season.

Frenkie de Jong and Pablo Martín Páez Gavira known as Gavi, suffered knocks during Barcelona's pre-season friendly against Red Bull Salzburg. The La Liga club suffered their first defeat in pre-season going down 2-1 to the Austrian team.

De Jong played almost the entire game before being replaced by Rey Manaj for the final seven minutes, after which the club confirmed the calf injury they are hoping is not as bad as feared. The Netherlands international is certain to miss the Joan Gamper Trophy game against Juventus and remains a doubt for Barcelona's opening game of the La Liga season against Real Sociedad on Aug. 15.

"Frenkie De Jong has pulled the inner gastrocnemius muscle in his right leg and is hence unavailable until he recovers from the injury," Barcelona said via a statement.

Gavi, meanwhile, played 72 minutes of the game against Red Bull Salzburg before being replaced by Riqui Puig. The club confirmed on Thursday that the highly rated 17-year-old had suffered a fractured jaw, which is expected to sideline him for at least four weeks.

The Barcelona U-19 star has been among the most impressive youth team stars during pre-season. The Spain youth international is hoping that his impressive showing during pre-season will earn him a promotion to the Barcelona B set-up for the upcoming season, while also being able to train with the first-team on occasion.

De Jong's injury will be a major blow for manager Ronald Koeman, who is already without Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian midfielder is in the final phase of his recovery from a knee injury that kept him out in the second-half of last season, and is yet to make a single appearance in pre-season.