Barcelona confirmed in an official statement on Wednesday that Marcus Rashford will miss the first leg of the 2026 Copa del Rey semi-final against Atlético Madrid due to injury.
According to the Catalan club’s statement, the England international suffered a knock to his knee during Barça’s 3-0 victory over Mallorca in La Liga last Saturday. The medical staff decided not to risk playing him against Atlético while he is still experiencing noticeable pain.
The newspaper Mundo Deportivo reported that Rashford’s injury is not serious, and the decision to leave him out of the Atlético Madrid match was a precautionary measure to prevent his minor injury from developing into a more serious one that could sideline him for an extended period.
Unless there are any further developments, the 28-year-old Rashford is expected to be available for Monday’s La Liga match against Girona.
Barcelona will also be without Rafinha for the Atlético Madrid match, as he has been sidelined for the past two weeks with an injury. He is expected to return for the Blaugrana’s next match against Girona.
With Rashford and Rafinha both unavailable, Hansi Flick is likely to deploy Ronnie Bardagji on the left wing, or temporarily move Ferran Torres back to that position, while starting Robert Lewandowski as the lone striker.
