Madrid, Nov 4 (IANS): Spanish football giants Barcelona confirmed they will be without defender Adriano Correia for the next three weeks due to an injury he picked up during his side's 3-1 win at home to Celta Vigo.

Adriano opened the scoring for Barca after 21 minutes of the game, but was forced to limp off after just 37 minutes, reports Xinhua.

The club immediately carried out tests and confirmed that he has torn a muscle in the right side of his groin; an injury that will keep him out of action for around three weeks.

The injury is another blow to coach Tito Vilanova, who has been forced to improvise in defense in recent weeks as a result to injuries to central defenders Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique, while Dani Alves has also missed games with a muscle problem.

The good news is that Alves was able to play this Saturday and replaced Adriano in the game, while Pique has returned to full training and could be in the squad for next week's Champions League match away to Glasgow Celtic.

Puyol is also close to recovering from an ugly injury to his elbow, while the absence of the injured trio has also allowed youngsters Martin Montoya and Marc Bartra to show they too can form an important part of the Barca squad for the season.