BARCELONA, Spain — Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali went off injured against Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday, eight days before Italy starts their World Cup qualifying playoff for a spot in this summer’s tournament.
Tonali appeared to hurt his left thigh chasing back to defend Fermín López and put the ball out for a corner.
“Sandro is a doubt. He has a groin, hip problem,” Newcastle coach Eddie Howe said after the game. “He was great in the first half and we really missed him when he went off.”
It was 4-2 at the time early in the second half, and Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski scored a header from the corner to all but guarantee the Spanish champion will advance to the quarterfinals.
Barcelona were soon leading 6-2 at Camp Nou after the teams drew 1-1 in Newcastle last week.
Tonali has been an expected starter for Italy as the four-time champion aims to play at a World Cup for the first time since 2014.
Italy hosts Northern Ireland on March 26 at Atalanta’s stadium in Bergamo and the winner will travel to face either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina five days later.
The playoff bracket winner will enter a World Cup group with co-host Canada, Switzerland and Qatar.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
