Barcelona: Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta will be sidelined for at least two weeks after injuring his right thigh in a Copa del Rey match on Thursday.
Iniesta tangled with Hospitalet goalkeeper Carlos Craviotto in the 28th minute, and was substituted two minutes later as coach Pep Guardiola held his head fearing the worst.
The Spain international has a history of leg muscle problems, and missed nearly one month earlier this season due to an injury to his left thigh.
Iniesta, who scored in the 19th minute, is unlikely to return before the club's January 8 league match at Espanyol due to the muscle tear.
Barcelona carried a 1-0 lead advantage over the third-tier club into the return leg at the Camp Nou, and Guardiola showed Hospitalet no mercy as the Barcelona coach fielded a full-strength side that demolished the third-tier team 9-0 to reach the last-16 of the Copa del Rey on Thursday.
Guardiola left nothing to chance after four top-flight clubs were eliminated in the fourth round on Wednesday. But his decision to field many of his Spain internationals proved costly as Iniesta injured his right thigh, and Cesc Fabregas also appeared be hurt in the second half.
"One part of me is bold and the other fearful," Guardiola said. "These types of games fill me with some fear."
Only four days on from its 4-0 rout of Santos in Japan, Lionel Messi was among the handful of regulars rested, but Guardiola still opted to include Xavi Hernandez, Carles Puyol, Thiago Alcantara, Fabregas, and Iniesta as his team delivered the biggest victory of his coaching career.
"We were jet-lagged and I asked the players to take the game seriously. I didn't know how they would feel today and the game could have easily ended with them winning 1-0," said Guardiola, who won his 13th trophy from 15 competitions in Japan. "To see how composed these players that have won everything shows why we are so admired and why we are the best team in the world this year."
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