Barcelona defender ruled out until 2025 with ACL injury

The Catalan giants are currently looking to finish their La Liga campaign on a high, realistically battling for second place over making a late surge for the title.

Xavi's side sit 11 points adrift of leaders Real Madrid with five matches remaining, as well as holding a two-point lead over Girona — who they play next — in third position.

Missing out on defending their top-flight crown, as well as a Champions League quarter-final elimination, has restricted the revenue generated by Barcelona this season.

That comes at a time when the club are already struggling financially, face a La Liga salary cap and must sell if they want to buy new players in the summer.

While there are players in the first-team squad that could potentially be sold, club officials have been naturally hoping that some of their loan players impress sufficiently enough elsewhere to secure a permanent exit from Camp Nou.

Barcelona's plan with Sergino Dest had initially worked out perfectly. The versatile full-back has made 33 appearances in Eredivisie and the Champions League this campaign, contributing two goals and seven assists.

With PSV surging to the league title and participating in the Champions League knockout stages, triggering the €10m (£8.55m) buy option in their agreement with Barcelona appeared to be a formality.

However, it has been revealed that Dest has suffered an ACL injury, subsequently ruling him out of action for the rest of 2024.

The injury occurred during a training session and the 23-year-old has taken to social media to comment on the situation.

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