Muscle injury for Barca`s Abidal

Madrid: Barcelona`s French international defender Eric Abidal has joined the long list of players suffering injuries at the club.

Abidal was forced out of his side`s 1-0 win at Sporting Gijon Sunday after suffering a problem with his right leg, Xinhua reported. The club has confirmed that he has suffered a strain in his right hamstring and that he will be sidelined for 7 to 10 days. Abidal`s injury happened just 24 hours after midfielder Cesc Fabregas pulled out of the game after suffering a hamstring injury in training. He will be sidelined for around three weeks. Meanwhile, Andres Iniesta and Alexis Sanchez are both recovering from torn hamstring muscles, and although Iniesta has returned to training with the squad, Sanchez will still need another three weeks to recover. Ibrahim Affelay will undergo an operation on a torn knee ligament which will see him sidelined for the next six months. IANS