Javier Mascherano forced off injured against Madrid

One of the negatives to come from the Clasico win over Real Madrid for Barcelona was an injury to Javier Mascherano. The Argentine was forced off in the first half, replaced by Jeremy Mathieu.

Mascherano had already set the alarm bells ringing when he clashed with James Rodriguez, grabbing his groin. Minutes later, after coming together with Gareth Bale, he was clearly in too much pain to continue and asked to be taken off.

That was in the 26th minute and Mathieu was chosen over Thomas Vermaelen to take his place. Mascherano left play talking with Doctor Ricard Pruna. There has been no news yet, but the club are expected to make an announcement later this evening – or, at the latest, on Sunday.