Alejandro Balde gives injury update after substitution in Barcelona win

Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde has allayed injury fears after he was taken off during his side's opening La Liga victory over Valencia on Saturday night.

The Catalan giants started Hansi Flick's reign as manager with three points at Mestalla Stadium thanks to two goals from Robert Lewandowski, coming from behind to win 2-1 after Hugo Duro had opened the scoring for the hosts.

However, having only recently returned from a long injury lay-off, 20-year-old Balde had to be taken off in the 64th minute. He was in discomfort after colliding with Valencia right-back Thierry Correia in the first half and couldn't continue, with Gerard Martin coming on as his replacement.

Thankfully for Barca, Balde posted an update on his Instagram confirming he had not suffered a serious blow, revealing: "It was only a knock, I'm alright."

The Spain international's last official game came back in January when he suffered a leg injury which required surgery, but he recovered in time to play in the Blaugrana's summer friendlies against Manchester City, Real Madrid and Monaco.

He's expected to be fit for next week's clash with Athletic Club where he could be tasked with dealing with Inaki Williams, with Jules Kounde likely forced to go head-to-head with Barca transfer target Nico on the opposite flank.

Barca had reportedly been keen to get a deal done for the Euro 2024 winner before Saturday's meeting at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, while it has also been claimed Nico has told Flick's side he wants to join them this summer. However, Barca still need to come up with a tempting payment structure to pressure Athletic, who have been keen to keep the 22-year-old all summer, into selling.

Manager Flick has also given an update on the future of midfielder Ilkay Gundogan after it was reported the Germany international had requested to leave Catalonia this summer.

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