Barcelona were forced to cancel Saturday night's pre-season friendly with Juventus due to a stomach bug which has impacted "a significant part of the Blaugrana squad".
The Catalan giants have not been in action since beating Vissel Kobe 2-0 in a post-season friendly at the start of June, but they were due to begin their pre-season against Juventus in California on Saturday evening.
Barcelona were ultimately forced to postpone the contest, revealing that a number of their players are currently unwell with a stomach illness.
"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," read a statement from the club.
"A significant part of the Blaugrana squad has viral gastroenteritis."
© Reuters
According to various reports in Spain, as many as 15 players have been impacted, while some members of the coaching staff have also allegedly come down with the illness.
There had been suggestions that Barcelona could look to put the game on at a later date, but the Catalan outfit's president Joan Laporta has confirmed that is not a possibility.
"It's a very hard blow, especially for the players affected, who I hope and wish them a speedy recovery. It is hard because all the Barca fans were looking forward to being in San Francisco today, playing a match against Juve," Laporta told Mundo Deportivo.
"Unfortunately, the match has been cancelled because the summer tour is very tightly scheduled and we don't have any more dates for this match to take place. We are going to see how we can make it up somehow. It is what it is and we have to accept it."
© Reuters
Barcelona are next due to be in action against Arsenal on Wednesday evening, while they will also take on Real Madrid and AC Milan during their tour of the United States.
Xavi's side will then return to Europe to take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Joan Gamper Trophy before beginning their 2023-24 La Liga campaign against Getafe on August 13.
Juventus, meanwhile, have not been in action since ending their 2022-23 Serie A season with a 1-0 win over Udinese.
The Old Lady's first friendly of the summer will now be against rivals AC Milan on Thursday, before ending their tour with a clash against Real Madrid on August 2.
Udinese will be Juve's first opponents of the new Serie A campaign, with Massimiliano Allegri's side heading to Dacia Arena on August 20.
No Data Analysis info
