Injured Claudio Bravo to miss three weeks of action

Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo is set to miss around three weeks of action, his agent Cristian Ogalde has revealed.

The 32-year-old Chile international was initially only expected to be sidelined for the crunch La Liga clash with Atletico Madrid on Saturday, but will now be ruled out for a longer period.

Bravo is of the belief that he could be fit to play again within a week, but has been told to make sure he is fully recovered to avoid the risk of any further damage.

"Claudio is alright – he will be 100% in three weeks," Ogalde said to Radio Cooperativa.

"I have spoken to him and he is relaxed. Claudio is expecting to feel fine within a week, but he needs to recover fully to make sure the injury doesn't recur in the coming months. 

"He will miss a few La Liga matches, but he is better off making a good recovery so that he doesn't have a relapse and can be fit for the rest of the season. There is no need to rush the process only to be ruled out for six months with a new injury in the same area.

"The injury was a story that everyone was worried but for us it was all quiet because Claudio is fine. It is a muscle injury that can occur for no specific reason."

The new timescale means Bravo is set to miss league games against Levante, Celta Vigo and Las Palmas as well as the upcoming Atletico game and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who is already first choice for the UEFA Champions League, will replace him.

Copa America winners Chile kick off their World Cup qualification campaign against Brazil on October 8 and Ogalde said: "He should be fit to play, as he will have trained with Barcelona for at least a week by then."