Just as it appeared that Adriano Correia was getting back to full speed after his last muscle injury, he picked up a new one. In the game against Rayo Vallecano Adriano played from the opening kickoff, but was forced to leave the game after 23 minutes.

Adriano was trying to control Andres Iniesta's cross, which turned out to be too high for the full-back. But in the attempt to snare the ball from midair, Adriano picked up yet another injury. He immediately appeared to be limping and left the pitch to get checked out by the Barça physio. The fears of an injury were confirmed two minutes later when Dani Alves was on the sidelines, ready to come on as a substitute.

The initial, yet official, diagnosis is that Adriano will miss the next four to six weeks with a thigh muscle injury. When healthy, Adriano has been impressive this season for Barcelona, helping the team with five goals and two assists.

The injury, coupled with Carles Puyol's surgery, figures to give youngsters Martin Montoya and Marc Bartra more playing time in the coming weeks.