Barcelona's Dani Alves could miss 1 month with groin strain; Busquets' injury not serious

Madrid - Barcelona is set to be without right-back Dani Alves for up to a month after the Brazilian suffered a groin injury in the European champions' 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

"In Dani Alves’ case, the results show that the Brazilian has a groin strain," the club said in a statement on Monday.

Barcelona refused to state how long the 32-year-old will be sidelined, but reports in the Catalan press suggest he could miss home league games against Malaga and Levante, as well as Barca's daunting trip to Atletico Madrid on September 12.

However, fears that Sergio Busquets may have suffered a serious ankle injury as he was stretchered off at San Mames have been allayed.

"In contrast, the tests performed on Sergio Busquets reveal that midfielder has suffered a slight ankle injury but nothing important," the club's statement added.

The midfielder is expected to be named in Spain coach Vicente del Bosque's squad on Friday for the his side's Euro 2016 qualifiers against Slovakia and Macedonia next month.