Neymar and Rafinha Alcantara to miss Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid as midfielder suffers broken nose

Barcelona midfielder Rafinha Alcantara is expected to miss the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night (7 February) after suffering a broken nose during the weekend's 3-0 victory over Athletic Club Bilbao.

Neymar is also ruled out due to suspension but the Catalans will try to take advantage of their 2-1 win at the Vicente Calderon to book a place in the final.

Rafinha only returned to action in the last week's victory over Atletico Madrid after overcoming a muscle injury.

However, the versatile midfielder is set for a new spell on the sidelines after sustaining a new blow in the La Liga win over Athletic Club, being forced off in the 50<sup>th minute of the game of the game following a collision with Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

"The Club's Medical Services have carried out tests and confirmed that the first team player Rafinha Alcantara has a fractured nose and his return will depend on how his injury heals," Barcelona confirmed in the club website.

"The Brazilian sustained the injury against Athletic Club at the Camp Nou in the Liga fixture which ended with a 3-0 Barça victory thanks to goals from Paco Alcácer, Leo Messi and Aleix Vidal."

Neymar will also miss the visit of Atletico Madrid after being booked in the reverse fixture last week. However, Luis Enrique should recover Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Lucas Digne.

The three players missed the weekend victory over Athletic as they continued to recover from their respective injuries. However, they have been training with the rest of Barcelona's available teammates since last week and are expected to be back for the crucial clash with Diego Simeone's side.