Dani Olmo is set to be sidelined for approximately one month after suffering a shoulder dislocation while netting his second goal in Barcelona‘s 3-1 triumph over Atlético Madrid on Tuesday.
Olmo, age 27, fell awkwardly and unchallenged while maneuvering past Jan Oblak in the 65th minute, giving Barça their first lead in the match.
The Spain international was promptly substituted, and subsequent examinations at the club’s training facility on Wednesday confirmed the dislocation.
As a result, he will be unavailable for Barça’s upcoming four matches in 2025, which include games against Real Betis, Eintracht Frankfurt, Osasuna, and Villarreal.
LaLiga will then take a short winter break, with Barça returning to the field on January 3 against city rivals Espanyol, when Olmo may be eligible to return.
This injury comes at a time when Olmo was hitting his stride, having scored two goals in a recent win against Alavés and following it up with another goal against Atlético, helping Barça create a four-point gap over Real Madrid, who are scheduled to play Athletic Club on Wednesday, atop the LaLiga table.
Barcelona currently also lacks Fermín López, who would be a natural substitute for Olmo due to a calf injury, although there is optimism he might return for either the Betis or Frankfurt matchup.
Frenkie de Jong, on the other hand, is expected to be available this weekend after recovering from the flu that kept him out of the Atlético match. However, Gavi and Marc-André ter Stegen remain long-term absentees, while Ronald Araújo has been granted an indefinite leave to address mental health matters.
On a positive note, both Raphinha and Pedri have recently returned to action, demonstrating their importance to Hansi Flick’s squad with impressive performances against Atlético.
Barcelona, who have now secured six consecutive wins in LaLiga following their loss to Madrid in the Clásico, will resume league play this Saturday with a match against Betis.