Injury and a penalty card could cost Barca up to three key positions after a 1-1 draw at Napoli’s Champions League Stadium on February 25.

Busquets and Arturo Vidal, because of a card, will be absent when Barca reunite with Napoli in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 at the Nou Camp on March 18.

Busquets received a yellow card after 49 minutes for kicking in the ball under Dries Mertens. But this card means that the Barca midfielder has enough penalty cards, and therefore, will have to sit out in the second leg.

Vidal was shown a yellow card for dissent after a dispute with left-back Napoli Manuel Rui on the 89th minute. But due to the reaction, Barca midfielder was penalized by the referee Felix Brych for a second yellow card, indirect red card.

In stoppage time, Gerard Pique got hurt after a block in the penalty area. The Barca center-back grimaced and rolled to the field because of the pain in his left ankle, then replaced with Clement Lenglet shortly thereafter.

Barca is waiting for the evaluation of Pique’s injury department. In the worst case, the center-back may have to miss El Clasico at Real Madrid on March 2, and the second leg against Napoli.

The defending champion La Liga is truly becoming a miniature hospital with a total of 29 injuries and 16 players affected since the start of the season. The three most injured players are Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Ousmane Dembele. Each player has three times. The most serious cases were Neto (broken left arm), Suarez (knee) and Dembele (hamstring). All three players have to go to the operating table and take a long rest.

Barca currently has only 18 players from Team A that are fit to play. When needed, coach Quique Setien was forced to call some more players from the B team such as Ansu Fati, Riqui Puig, or Alex Collado. The Nou Camp host has three rare players who have not yet worked with the doctor, Frenkie De Jong, Antoine Griezmann and Sergio Busquets.

However, Busquets, in all circumstances, Barca will still fight hard for the goal of victory.