Barcelona's Marc Bernal suffers a cruciate ligament injury and is expected to miss the rest of the season

FC Barcelona midfielder Marc Bernal is expected to miss the rest of the season after suffering a tear in his anterior cruciate ligament.

Scans on Wednesday showed that the 17-year-old has torn the cruciate ligament in his left knee and also suffered a meniscus injury. He will now have to undergo surgery.

Bernal sustained the injury in second-half stoppage time in Barcelona's win over Rayo Vallecano on Tuesday. He left the field in tears and was carried off by members of the club's support team. He later left the stadium on crutches with his left knee completely bandaged.

“Marc's injury doesn't look good,” said head coach Hansi Flick after the final whistle. “After the final whistle, the whole dressing room stood around him. It hurts a lot and it's a sad victory for us.”

After an impressive pre-season, Bernal has become a regular in Flick's first team and Barcelona have made a perfect start to the La Liga season.

GO DEEPER

Barcelona briefing: Olmos perfect start, Pedri shines again, bad luck for Marc Bernal

The defensive midfielder made his La Liga debut on the opening day of the season and shone in the 2-1 win over Valencia, starting all three of his team's league matches.

Bernal is a graduate of La Masia and went through the Barcelona Academy together with Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi.

Flick added: “We have a lot of players who can act as defensive midfielders. After the break, we hope to bring back one or two players from the injury list who can help us in this role.”

Barcelona has also been without midfielder Gavi since November, who tore his cruciate ligament and will therefore miss the European Championship this summer.

Goals from Pedri and Dani Olmo helped Barcelona to a 2-1 win against Vallecano after coming from behind.

On Saturday, Flick’s team returns to action against Real Valladolid.

A heavy blow for Barcelona

This is terrible news for Barcelona. The Catalans are not only losing one of their highly valued talents, but also a player who had a significant influence on Flick's plans and the team's perfect start to the season.

Bernal's impressive preseason form was a major factor in Barcelona's decision not to strengthen their defensive midfield this summer. Flick was so confident in Bernal's abilities that he decided not to bring in a new player, giving him the opportunity to secure valuable playing time.

Frenkie de Jong's injury gave Bernal the chance to take a place in the starting lineup, and he took it with ease. Now that both players are injured, Barcelona will be forced to find a replacement within their own squad, as club sources admit that it will be very difficult to sign new players before the end of the transfer window.

(Denis Doyle/Getty Images)