Sergio Busquets 'Requested' Substitution in Roma Win As Toe Injury Flares Up Again

Sergio Busquets is a doubt for Barcelona's La Liga match against CD Leganes on Saturday after he suffered a slight recurrence over a previous toe injury.

The midfielder had missed the past three weeks of action due to the broken toe he had sustained in the Champions League last-16 tie over Chelsea, but had been nursed back to health in time to face Roma in the quarter finals on Wednesday.

However, according to Sport, Busquets requested to be substituted by manager Ernesto Valverde in the 4-1 victory over I Giallorossi at Nou Camp after he felt discomfort in the affected area.

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The Spain international was subsequently taken off the pitch and replaced by Paulinho, and it is unclear if this latest setback will rule him out of the game against Leganes on home soil.

Busquets was only given the green light to return to the first-team fold at the beginning of April after he responded well to treatment on the toe problem.

But the 30-year-old lasted only 66 minutes of the clash with Roma before he was hauled off due to concerns about the issue flaring up again.

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With the return fixture against the Serie A side set to take place on 10th April at Stadio Olimpico, La Blaugrana will hope that Busquets' knock is not as serious as first thought.

Despite their three-goal lead over Roma, Barca will know full well that the tie isn't over yet and Valverde will be keen to have all of his best players available to him for the second leg.

If that means that his defensive midfielder must miss the Leganes clash, it will be a risk worth taking given how big Barcelona's lead is in Spain's top flight. Barcelona hold a nine-point lead over nearest rivals Atletico Madrid with eight games to go, and shouldn't throw the title away from the position they find themselves in.