Barcelona suffer major injury blow ahead of Man Utd clash with midfielder a doubt for Europa League tie

Xavi's side will face off against United across two legs, with the ties scheduled to take place on February 16 and 23.

The winner of the play-off round will progress to the last 16 stage, and could face the likes of Arsenal, Real Sociedad or Feyenoord.

Both sides have injury concerns going into the match, although Diogo Dalot returned to the United bench on Saturday after recovering from an injury he suffered in December.

But Anthony Martial and Scott McTominay are doubts, whilst Donny van de Beek and Christian Eriksen are definitely out of both legs due to long-term injuries.

Barcelona could be without forward Ousmane Dembele, who suffered during a La Liga fixture against Girona on January 28. Spanish journalist Fernando Polo claimed that he would be out for five to six weeks, thus ruling him out of at least one of the fixtures against United, although Xavi has refused to put a timeframe on his recovery.

The Spaniard had to be substituted in the first half due to the injury, and was replaced by Franck Kessie. The former AC Milan star made good of his opportunity, providing an exquisite assist for Jordi Alba to open the scoring.

In an official club statement confirming the injury, Barcelona wrote: "Tests on Monday morning have revealed that first team captain Sergio Busquets has sprained the external lateral ligament of his left ankle. He will be unavailable for selection until he recovers.

The 34-year-old has made 27 appearances for Barca this term - only five players have made more - and his absence may be keenly felt should he not be available to take on Erik ten Hag's side.