FCBARCELONA.CAT

25.10.2007 18:35

"We hope to have the injured players back"

Miriam Nadal

Xavi Hernández highlighted the lengthy injury list at FC Barcelona as a problem for the team and also reflected on the goalless draw against Rangers in the Champions League in midweek.

The Catalan playmaker spoke to Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat and explained why he thought that the Blaugrana were suffering due to the number of absentees there currently are in midfield and outlined how the coach and the players were doing their best to overcome this. "Yes, we have had some misfortune as there are quite a few injured player, both in midfield and in defence," he said.

"People are talking about the midfielders more, like Deco and Touré Yaya, because there are not so many to replace them in the squad. The coach is trying to build a team despite these injuries though. We have just drawn with Rangers in Glasgow and now we hope that they can return as soon as possible. It appears that Touré could be available again this weekend."

We deserved to win

Loking back on the Champions League encounter with Rangers, Xavi recognised that Barça were not happy with the result: "At first it may not appear such a bad result, but we deserved to win," he explained. "We did not have many clear chances, maybe two or three. Maybe Ronaldinho should have had a penalty, but they were a very difficult team to play against. They allowed us to have possession and then defended in numbers. It was a very tough game. Despite that, in the Champions League a draw is not a bad result."

Looking ahead to the game against Almería, Xavi thinks winning is paramount. "Although they are having a good season, we have to take the three points," he concluded.