If Pep Guardiola needed more worries regarding his decimated backline, Éric Abidal was just piling on. Leg pain during the Blaugrana training session and somewhere Stuttgart are starting to feel a touch braver.

During a special training session at Reus, Abidal felt discomfort in his leg and was excused from training. Initial prognoses determined that he torn his groin muscle and he will be inactive between six to eight weeks. Abidal was currently in a stretch where he was playing some of the best ball he had played since he arrived to the Condal City.

Early indications would be that Diego Milito and Yaya Touré as he played in that position last season last year's Champions League final. It is very tough to see Dimitro Chygrynskiy playing there in a match of this importance. It is also difficult to see Guardiola experimenting with him and leaving Seydou Keita on the bench.



The news did not come as soothing for French national team coach Raymond Domenech as he lost his starting right back and will not be able to count on him for Les Bleus preparation for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.


Barca's probable formation

Valdés, Puyol, Touré, Maxwell, Xavi, Keita, Iniesta, Messi, Henry (Pedro), Ibrahimovic


Add Abidal's injury to the injury suffered by Dani Alves as well as the suspensions of Rafa Márquez and Gerard Piqué and Barcelona are ripe for the picking this weekend at the Vicente Calderón in Madrid.