Mascherano ruled out for 6 weeks after suffering knee injury

Javier Mascherano will be sidelined for over a month after the Barcelona midfielder was diagnosed with a posterior capsule strain in his right knee.

Barcelona confirmed Mascherano will need six weeks to overcome the injury, which he suffered during the team's triumph over Alaves in the Copa del Rey final.

While the injury comes as a blow for Mascherano, considering Saturday's title match was his first since overcoming a calf strain, but the timing is somewhat ideal.

With his Barcelona duties on hold heading into the offseason, the timetable for his recovery puts Mascherano on course to regain full fitness in time for the team's pre-season workouts later this summer, as well as the start of the Liga season in August.

He is also expected to be available for selection ahead of Argentina's World Cup qualifier against Uruguay on Aug. 31.

After Saturday's match, Barcelona revealed Mascherano was also diagnosed with a concussion, during the same incident that damaged his knee, when he and Alaves midfielder Marcos Llorente clashed heads just 11 minutes into the contest.

The Argentine, who had just returned from a calf injury that kept him out of action for two weeks, fell awkwardly on his knee before his limp body hit the ground.