Jules Kounde, a defender for Barcelona, was taken off the field on Thursday night while playing for France, and he now faces the possibility of missing several weeks of action.
The 23-year-old has spent most of the summer in the public eye as the saga over his future plays out ahead of the upcoming season. Kounde eventually decided against moving to Chelsea in favour of Camp Nou, admitting that he had been persuaded after conversing with the head coach Xavi.
But it seems that the newcomer will have to spend some time in the hospital after getting hurt while serving abroad. Kounde was chosen for the world champions' critical UEFA Nations League match against Austria on the right side of a back three.
Around the Stade de France, Kounde needed to be replaced at the midpoint of the first session after seemingly suffering a muscular injury. Didier Deschamps, Kounde's manager, disclosed that Kounde suffered a thigh problem after the game and would undergo more testing in the coming days.
All parties involved are shocked by the situation because Kounde had intended to make an impression during France's final two games before the World Cup. With five starts occurring between August 28 and September 17, he would have also wanted to keep his place in the Barcelona XI.
Despite only having played in that position once, Kounde's performance in the middle of the Sevilla backline won him a transfer to Camp Nou.
His other four appearances were as a right-back, a less common position, and the first one was in the Champions League loss at Bayern Munich by a score of 2-0.
Prior to the World Cup, which will be held in Qatar, Barcelona will soon begin a series of 12 games between October 1 and November 9.
Kounde, though, doesn't seem to have a chance of playing in the first of those contests, an away match against Mallorca right after the break for international play.
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