Jordi Alba Injury: Updates on Barcelona Star's Hamstring and Return

Updates from Friday, May 16

Jordi Alba is expected to be fit for Barcelona's La Liga title showdown with Atletico Madrid.

ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan paraphrased an update from the Spanish version of Barcelona's official website:

Updates from Tuesday, May 13

Jordi Alba remains a doubt for Barcelona's La Liga title decider against Atletico Madrid.

Barca's official website reported on Tuesday:

After the draw against Elche, Barça were back in training this morning at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper as they began preparations for Saturday's title showdown with Atletico Madrid.

Of the team's injured players,  Gerard Piqué began training on the pitch, though still apart from the rest of the group whilst Neymar and Jordi Alba did specific recovery work.

Original Text

Things continue to get worse for Barcelona, especially from an injury perspective. Left-back Jordi Alba is the most recent player forced to miss time due to a hamstring issue.    

According to AS, the defender will be out for almost a month:

Alba suffered the injury in Wednesday's Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid and was substituted out for Adriano at halftime. Now it seems the issue is likely to keep him out until the end of the season.

The 25-year-old player has been in and out of the lineup this season, making only 14 starts in league play. However, he has contributed two assists and continues to be one of the more consistent defenders along the left side.

This injury along with Bartra leaves the club incredibly shorthanded going forward. According to ESPN FC, the club also announced that Neymar would be sidelined four weeks with a foot injury.

Additionally, Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique were out against Real Madrid, which helped contribute to a 2-1 loss to Barcelona's biggest rival. Obviously, the defense is lacking without its best players and it has led to some historic failures:

After being eliminated from Champions League, the club's only chance of securing a trophy will come in La Liga. Unfortunately, Barca sit four points out of first place behind both Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. 

Without Alba and a few other key players, it seems unlikely they will be able to get back to the top of the table with just five matches remaining.

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