Victor Valdes Injury: Updates on Barcelona Keeper's Knee and Return

Updates from Tuesday, April 1

Victor Valdes posted a video and statement on YouTube thanking fans for their support, "Thank you very much to everyone for the messages of support and strength, is an honor for me as a person all that I have received these last few days ..."

Updates from Monday, March 31

Barcelona have confirmed how long Victor Valdes is expected to be sidelined as a result of his knee surgery:

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The Barça keeper has been operated on by doctors Ulrich Boenisch and Ricard Pruna in Augsburg (Germany) for the anterior cruciate ligament tear he suffered last week. The knee’s internal cartilage has been sewn up and the operation was concluded successfully. Valdes will be out of action for approximately seven months.

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Updates from Wednesday, March 26

Barcelona have confirmed Victor Valdes will undergo surgery on a torn ACL:

Guillem Balague of AS.com initially provided the discouraging news:

Valdes will have the surgery on Monday according to Barcelona:

Original Text:

As Barcelona continue to battle with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid for position atop La Liga, they may have to do so without Victor Valdes in goal for a while.     

During the Catalans' match against Celta Vigo on Wednesday night, the 32-year-old Spaniard was carted off and then replaced by Pinto in the 22nd minute, according to the club's official Twitter feed:

There aren't many known details at this point, but the particulars of the injury provided by AS.com don't exactly paint an encouraging picture:

This has the potential to be a terrible blow for Barca, whose weakest backup position is arguably at keeper. Not only did they enter Matchday 30 a single point behind Real and Atletico in Spain, but as ESPN's Dermot Corrigan noted, they have a crucial Champions League quarterfinal matchup with Diego Simeone's squad on the horizon:

The first leg is on April 1, and if Valdes is unable to go, Pinto, who has made just six appearances across La Liga and the UCL this season, will be called upon to fill in. 

Moreover, if the injury proves serious, Valdes may be at risk of missing the World Cup with Spain in June.