Vermaelen's renaissance halted by hamstring injury

Barcelona may have to fast-track Yerry Mina into the first team due to a hamstring injury suffered by Thomas Vermaelen.

The club estimates a two-week layoff for Vermaelen.

Although Samuel Umtiti was able to replace the Belgian in the first half of Saturday’s 5-0 victory at Real Betis after his own fitness issues, Barcelona’s busy schedule could necessitate the fielding of the Colombian centre-back who joined this month.

It’s an unfortunate setback for Vermaelen, who has been in a good run of form since deputising for Umtiti. The 32-year-old’s Camp Nou career has been continually hampered by injury problems, but he was reviving his stay in Catalonia with smart positional play and aerial prowess unrivalled by any of his defensive colleagues.

Barcelona is entering a busy period of the season. This week alone crams in Thursday’s second-leg meeting with Espanyol in the Copa del Rey – Ernesto Valverde’s side needs to overturn a 1-0 deficit in that fixture – and a La Liga visit from Alaves three days later.

The 23-year-old Mina, an €11.8-million January arrival from SE Palmeiras, could be closer to his debut than he thought.