Xavi confirms another Barcelona fitness concern before Betis

Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez has, on Friday, confirmed that a key member of his first-team setup may be forced to sit out the club's next outing.

The player in question? Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Speaking in a press conference this afternoon, Xavi was asked for an update on the fitness levels in his squad, amid a campaign which has been far from kind to the Blaugrana on the personnel front.

And the club's boss went on to reveal that shot-stopper ter Stegen missed training today, after coming down with a bout of illness:

Elsewhere, Xavi, as expected, also went on to confirm Gerard Pique's impending absence this weekend, after the veteran stopper picked up a thigh injury during Barca's win over Mallorca last weekend:

Betis next up

The latest pair of fitness concerns in Barcelona's squad of course comes ahead of the Catalan giants' return to action in a little over 24 hours' time.

Fresh off the back of a return to winning ways at the expense of the aforementioned Mallorca, Xavi and co. will make the trip to the Estadio Benito Villamarin, for a La Liga showdown with Real Betis.

The Blaugrana head into the clash sitting 2nd in the Spanish top-flight, albeit a full 15 points adrift of arch-rivals Real Madrid, officially crowned as champions last weekend.

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