Alejandro Balde gives an injury update after coming off the bench in the Barcelona win

Barcelona defender Alejandro Balde has eased injury fears after being taken off in his side's La Liga opener against Valencia on Saturday night.

The Catalan giants began Hansi Flick's reign as manager with three points at the Mestalla Stadium thanks to two goals from Robert Lewandowski, who came from behind to win 2-1 after Hugo Duro opened the scoring for the home side.

However, fresh from a long-term injury, 20-year-old Balde had to be substituted in the 64th minute. He was upset after colliding with Valencia defender Thierry Correia in the first half and was unable to continue, with Gerard Martin replacing him.

Thankfully for Barca, Balde posted an update on his Instagram confirming he wasn't seriously hurt, revealing: “It was just a knock, I'm fine.”

The Spaniard's last official game came back in January when he suffered a leg injury that required surgery, but he recovered in time to play in the Blaugrana's friendlies against Manchester City, Real Madrid and Monaco.

It is expected that he will be ready to face Athletic Club next week when he may be given the task of facing Inaki Williams, while Jules Kounde may be forced to face Nico who is being trained by Barca on the other side.

Barça were reportedly keen to do a deal to win Euro 2024 ahead of Saturday's meeting at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, and Nico is said to have told Flick's team he wants to join this summer. However, Barca still need to come up with a tempting payment structure to pressure Athletic, who have been keen to keep the 22-year-old throughout the summer.

Manager Flick has also given an update on the future of midfielder Ilkay Gundogan after it was reported that the German international has asked to leave Catalonia this summer.

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