Sevilla are set to be without the services of Youssef En-Nesyri in their upcoming away game against Barcelona, reports Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo.
The 26-year-old forward was initially a doubt for the fixture, meaning that there was a slight possibility that could have played.
However, the aforementioned outlet has now confirmed that the Morocco international will be unavailable for selection after he missed Thursday’s training session.
As a result of this setback, Sevilla find themselves without their primary centre-forward and leading goal-scorer this season (3 goals in 8 games).
Consequently, the club is now faced with the task of identifying a suitable replacement for En-Nesyri, and Rafa Mir stands as a strong contender to assume the role of the starting forward at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
En-Nesyri, the talented African forward, had to prematurely exit the match against Almeria due to an injury earlier this week.
Subsequently, Sevilla officially announced via their social media platforms that he has been omitted from the travelling squad due to an ankle sprain suffered.
We have reported before that after dropping a couple of his first-team regulars against Mallorca, Xavi is expected to go all-out against Sevilla. This means the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde are likely to return to the starting XI.
Gavi is expected to make a comeback as well while there happens to be a degree of uncertainty regarding Joao Cancelo.
The summer signing deserves some rest ahead of a gruelling fixture lineup and if he does, expect Sergi Roberto to get a role in the starting XI.
On the other hand, youngster Lamine Yamal is likely to be used in this fixture as well, but the likes of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong will be unavailable for selection due to their respective injuries.