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Barcelona's Balde May Miss Cup Final with Hamstring Injury

Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 FC Barcelona's Alejandro Balde celebrates scoring their fourth goal REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/ File Photo
Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 FC Barcelona's Alejandro Balde celebrates scoring their fourth goal REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/ File Photo
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Barcelona's Balde May Miss Cup Final with Hamstring Injury

Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 FC Barcelona's Alejandro Balde celebrates scoring their fourth goal REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/ File Photo
Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 FC Barcelona's Alejandro Balde celebrates scoring their fourth goal REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/ File Photo

Barcelona left back Alejandro Balde has sustained an injury to his left hamstring, the club said on Sunday, ahead of an important run of games for the LaLiga leaders.

Hansi Flick's side face Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday, after a huge 4-0 win in Barcelona last week, followed by the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid on April 26.

Local media reports say Balde will need three weeks to recover, Reuters reported.

The 21-year-old left the Leganes game, which Barcelona won 1-0 to extend their LaLiga lead, due to injury on Saturday.

"Tests carried out on Sunday morning on the first team player Alejandro Balde confirm that he has a distal injury to his left hamstring," Barcelona said in a statement.

"His return to action with the first team will depend on his recovery," the Catalan side added.

Balde has played 43 games in all competitions, scoring one goal and providing 10 assists.

Barcelona lead LaLiga with 70 points, seven ahead of Real Madrid who have a game in hand.

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Ostapenko on Upward Trajectory as Clay Season Gains Momentum 

Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko holds the winner's trophy following the women's singles final tennis match of the WTA tour, in Stuttgart, Germany, Monday, April 21, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)
Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko holds the winner's trophy following the women's singles final tennis match of the WTA tour, in Stuttgart, Germany, Monday, April 21, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)
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Ostapenko on Upward Trajectory as Clay Season Gains Momentum 

Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko holds the winner's trophy following the women's singles final tennis match of the WTA tour, in Stuttgart, Germany, Monday, April 21, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)
Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko holds the winner's trophy following the women's singles final tennis match of the WTA tour, in Stuttgart, Germany, Monday, April 21, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Jelena Ostapenko is starting to show shades of the form that saw her crowned French Open champion eight years ago with the Latvian knocking over the top two players in the world en route to winning the Stuttgart Open title on Monday.

Ostapenko became the first woman to beat the world number one and number two in the same claycourt event since Serena Williams at Madrid in 2012 by beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final and Iga Swiatek in the quarters.

Her ninth tour-level title, and just her second on clay, lifted Ostapenko six places in the world rankings to 18th, marking her out as a dark horse ahead of Roland Garros, which begins on May 25.

"Honestly, I didn't tell anyone, but I felt confident since the first day. I had a strange feeling in a good way," she told reporters in Stuttgart.

"When I came here, I felt like something's going to happen this week. I pretty much felt that I can win this tournament.

"I think I'm improving day by day and I'm playing better and better. I think I deserve it."

Ostapenko, who also beat Swiatek on the way to the Doha final in February before losing to Amanda Anisimova, has failed to reach a Grand Slam final since her Roland Garros breakthrough in 2017.

However, she said playing without the burden of expectation had worked wonders for her this season.

"I had enough pressure in my career," Ostapenko told the WTA website. "I didn't feel it even though it was the final. In my mind, I was just playing a match."

Ostapenko will be in action in Madrid this week and is also dreaming of another deep run in Paris.

"Obviously I can play well on this surface," she added.

"I will take it match by match, but anything can happen."