Opponent watch: Barcelona striker ruled out of Real Madrid clash with injury

With the first El Clasico of the 2025/26 season less than two weeks away, Real Madrid have been handed a big boost through an injury in the Barcelona camp.

The Blaugrana are already set to be without players like Joan Garcia, Gavi, Dani Olmo, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen for the trip to the Santiago Bernabeu. Now, there is another name added to the list of casualties.

Robert Lewandowski out of the Clasico

Indeed, according to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona’s superstar striker Robert Lewandowski has been ruled out of the game against Real Madrid.

Barça issued an official statement earlier today confirming that the 37-year-old forward had suffered a hamstring injury.

“The player Robert Lewandowski has a muscle tear in the biceps femoris of the left thigh. He is sidelined, and the recovery time will depend on the progress of the injury,” the statement read.

𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐃𝐎 𝐌𝐄́𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐎

El jugador Robert Lewandowski tiene una rotura muscular en el bíceps femoral del muslo izquierdo. Es baja, y el tiempo de recuperación dependerá de la evolución de la lesión. pic.twitter.com/ffUADsnTzi

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) October 14, 2025

Building on that, MD reports that the veteran centre-forward will likely take around 4-6 weeks to recover fully, meaning he cannot be back in time to face Real Madrid on 26 October at the Santiago Bernabeu.

This will come as a blow for Barça, as they lose a seasoned campaigner for an extended run of fixtures and will now have to rely on Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford to fill in as the No. 9.

As mentioned earlier, Barcelona will also be without Gavi, Olmo, Garcia, and Ter Stegen as well for the match, while the likes of Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal, and Raphinha are expected to return over the coming week.

Things are looking much better for Real Madrid as both Dani Carvajal and Trent Alexander-Arnold are expected to be available for El Clasico, while Dean Huijsen is also set to return next week.

Ferland Mendy, too, is expected to resume training in the coming days, leaving Antonio Rudiger as the only absentee for Real Madrid heading into the clash against Barcelona.