Barcelona vs Getafe: Sandro Ramirez out for up to seven weeks while Javier Mascherano is suspended

Barcelona have revealed that Sandro Ramirez is going to be out of action for "six to seven weeks" after the academy forward suffered a muscle injury during a training session. The striker is expected to be on the sidelines for the La Liga game against Getafe on Saturday (12 March) alongside long-term absentee Rafinha Alcantara and Javier Mascherano, who is unavailable due to suspension.

"FC Barcelona striker Sandro Ramírez was injured on Friday at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper during the team's last training session before hosting Getafe on Saturday at Camp Nou. The injury is to his left quadriceps and is expected to keep him out of action for approximately six to seven weeks," the club confirmed in an official statement.

Sandro's absence doesn't look a major concern for Luis Enrique as the Canary Islander has barely played in recent weeks, with Munir ahead of him in the pecking order to back up Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar up front.

The boss, meanwhile, will announce the squad for Getafe on Saturday morning just before the match, but it looks like the rest of the players are available and fresh, after the manager gave them time off earlier in the week because they didn't have to play in midweek. Neymar returned to the training on Thursday with the rest of his teammates and could be back in the first team line-up after missing the win over Eibar due to suspension. The Barcelona manager confirmed he gave him permission to go to Brazil to rest ahead of the crucial run-in of the campaign.

"What does days [in Brazil] have to do with him playing against Getafe? I'm in charge and I gave him permission [to go]. Neymar's a player who's played a lot of football this year," Luis Enrique said in the press conference.

The former Celta Vigo manager, meanwhile, could make some rotation to the rest of his Barcelona line-up team ahead of the Champions League second last 16 with Arsenal on Wednesday night (16 March), with the Catalans top of La Liga, eight points clear of Atletico Madrid and 12 of Real Madrid.

The Barcelona manager, anyway, insisted that his side are just thinking game by game, and not distracted by the upcoming return game against the Gunners.

"We are in the final stretch of the season against opponents who need points. At the moment, we are only thinking about three points against Getafe, which will get us closer to our objective of winning the league," he said. "We know that we are where we wanted to be at the start of the season, but the most difficult part remains, which is to confirm our performances with titles. We have a clear advantage but we cannot afford to slip up because losing two matches could see us punished."