Barcelona fear Marc Bernal suffered ACL injury vs. Vallecano - source

Marc Bernal, a suspect midfielder for Barcelona, may miss the rest of the season after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury during Tuesday's 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano, an ESPN source said.

The 17-year-old Bernal was sent off in the closing minutes of Barça's victory over Vallecas, as the team overcame a late deficit to begin the new La Liga season with three straight victories.

The win was marred by Bernal's injury, though, as coach Hansi Flick confirmed that he fears the worst while still stating that the young player will have tests on Wednesday.

"It's a disappointing win because Marc Bernal is hurt and his condition doesn't seem good," Flick remarked following the game during a press conference.

"We'll have to wait and see its weight. We prevail, all is OK, but judging from the changing room, not a soul is smiling.

"It is not favorable. At the age of 17, he put on an amazing performance. It aches.

One of the things that has gone well for Barça this season has been Bernal, who made his team debut in the opening victory over Valencia on opening day after making an impression on Flick throughout the preseason.

Along with defender Pau Cubarsí and winger Lamine Yamal, the 17-year-old Spain youth international plays in the base of the midfield and is one of three players who have started all three of the Blaugrana's league games thus far.

With Ilkay Güngodan rejoining Manchester City last week and Frenkie de Jong and Gavi now out with injury, it further complicates matters in midfield for Barça.

Despite this, Flick maintains that the team has enough players to fill the role and won't make any rash acquisitions before the transfer market closes on Friday.

"This is very close to the match," he said in response to the question of whether Barça would go to the trade market to cover Bernal's probable long-term injury.



"We have a lot of players at the end of the day, but we have to think about everything right now. Before the international break, we have one more match, and then ideally the players will return. We have no trouble filling up at position No. 6.

Prior to Bernal's injury, Dani Olmo celebrated a dream debut for Barça, coming off the bench to score an 82nd-minute winner after Pedri had cancelled out Unai López's opener.

The win took the Catalan side to the top of the table with nine points from a possible nine, representing their best start to a league campaign since the 2018-19 season.

They return to action on Saturday when they host Real Valladolid at the Olympic Stadium before LaLiga pauses for an international break.