Barcelona provide injury updates on Andres Iniesta and Rafinha Alcantara ahead of Atletico Madrid

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta could be fit for the Catalan's upcoming trip to Atletico Madrid on 14 October after medical scans revealed that his latest hamstring injury will only keep him on the sidelines for around 10 days.

The 33-year-old midfielder came on at half-time during Barcelona's 3-0 victory over Las Palmas on Sunday (1 October) as Ernesto Valverde opted to make some changes in his starting-line up.

However, the captain only lasted 39 minutes on the pitch after being forced off with six minutes remaining.

The substitution set alarms bells ringing at the Nou Camp as Iniesta has been hit by different muscle injuries since the beginning of last season.

Indeed, earlier in August the Spanish international already missed a couple of games after suffering another muscle injury to his right leg during the Spanish Super Cup first leg against Real Madrid.

However, subsequent scans have ruled out a major injury with the midfielder being ruled out for only 10 days.

"Tests carried out show that the player Andres Iniesta has a hamstring strain in his left leg and he is expected to be out for about around 10 days," the club confirmed. "The midfielder came on at half time in the game between FC Barcelona and Las Palmas that ended in a 3-0 victory thanks to goals from Busquets and Leo Messi (2). With just 6 minutes remaining, Iniesta was replaced by Andre Gomes."

Iniesta has consequently pulled out from the Spain squad alongside Chelsea's Alvaro Morata and Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal for their final two World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Israel on 6 and 9 October.

However, midfielder could recover in time for the Catalan's crucial visit to Atletico Madrid which will take place just after the international break.

Barcelona will visit the new Wanda Metropolitano Stadium at the top of La Liga table after winning their opening seven games of the campaign, being five points ahead of Sevilla and seven over Real Madrid, who are fifth.

Meanwhile, the Catalan side provided a much more concerning update on Rafinha Alcantara with the long-term casualty having forced to undergo a new surgery on his right knee.

The Brazilian midfielder has been out of action since suffering a serious injury to the internal meniscus during a 4-1 win over Granada on 2 April.

Days later Barcelona ruled him out for around four months after the Brazilian was forced to undergo an operation to correct the issue. However, the recovery has not going as expected and the midfielder has been forced to go under the knife once again.

"The first team player Rafinha underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on Sunday on his right kneem," Barcelona confirmed. "It is worth remembering that the Barça number 12 is yet to feature for the team this season and that he underwent similar surgery on the internal meniscus of his right knee on 7 April of this year."

This time Barcelona have failed to set a time frame on his recovery but reports in Spain suggest that he won't be able to return to action until next year. Yet, Barcelona do say that the new surgery is similar to the one underwent in April and then he was ruled out for four months.