BARCELONA’S friendly with Juventus was called off just hours before kick-off after a virus ripped through the LaLiga champs’ squad.
Barca blamed the cancellation of Saturday night’s pre-season opener on a “significant part” of their squad having a “viral gastroenteritis”.
AFPBarcelona have been training in the USA since midweek and defender Jules Kounde is thought to have caught a bug on the first day[/caption]
GettyThe pre-season clash at the Levi’s Stadium was called off at short notice after Barcelona had trained at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum[/caption]
The prestigious warm-up match on Barcelona’s Soccer Champions Tour was due to be played at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California in the early hours of Sunday morning UK time.
But the Spanish giants were hit by a stomach bug.
They released a statement saying: “FC Barcelona hereby informs that the game against Juventus FC, scheduled for today, July 22 at 7:30 PM at Levi’s Stadium, as part of the Soccer Champions Tour, has been canceled.
“A significant part of the Blaugrana squad has viral gastroenteritis.”
Barca had been training in the US since midweek.
And there was just one hint of a problem until their formal announcement.
Barcelona’s France defender Jules Kounde was affected by a stomach bug on the first day of practice in California.
It’s not yet known which stars were suffering on Saturday.
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But journalist Toni Juanmarti suggested around eight to nine players could have been laid low.
Barcelona are next due to face Arsenal at the SoFi Stadium on Wednesday.