Puyol sidelined again with bruise on his left leg

Barcelona says defender Carles Puyol has a left leg injury and the speed of his recovery will determine his availability. (Osama Faisal/AP)

BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona says defender Carles Puyol has a left leg injury and the speed of his recovery will determine his availability.

Barcelona says medical tests "confirmed Puyol has a bruise on his left leg" that forced him to be substituted in the 57th minute of Wednesday’s 4-1 win at Levante in the Copa del Rey.

The 35-year-old Puyol has been plagued by injuries over the past two seasons and has lost his role as Barcelona’s first-choice centre back alongside Gerard Pique. He has made nine appearances for Barcelona this season.

Barcelona hosts Malaga on Sunday when it will look to defend its share of the Spanish league lead with Atletico Madrid.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.