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Barcelona have confirmed that Philippe Coutinho picked up a hamstring injury during El Clasico defeat to Real Madrid on Saturday.  

The Catalans were beaten 3-1 by their arch rivals over the weekend but their misery has been compounded by the loss of one of their key attacking stars.

In a statement on the club's official website, Barcelona did not confirm how long Coutinho will be out for as 'it depends on how the injury evolves'. 

Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho could miss up to three weeks of the season due to injury

The Brazilian tore his hamstring during El Clasico defeat to Real Madrid on Saturday

But according to Spanish news outlet AS, the Brazilian attacker is expected to be out for three weeks - which will rule him out for crucial LaLiga and Champions League matches.

Barcelona's next game sees them travel to last season's Serie A champions Juventus in Europe's premier club competition, while Coutinho could also miss the league trip to Alaves next weekend as well as home games with Dynamo Kiev and Real Betis. 

Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman will be hoping the Brazilian star can recover in time for the trip to Atletico Madrid on November 22, which will be a pivotal match for the club's title chances after a slow start to the campaign. 

Coutinho is set to miss Barcelona's trip to Juventus this week along with three other matches 

Coutinho's injury means wonderkid Ansu Fati can expect more game time from the start, while Antoine Griezmann could also come in to replace the Brazilian. 

Teenage midfielder Pedri started the Clasico match-up on the opposite wing to Coutinho so could also be given more minutes while wide players Ousmane Dembele and Francisco Trincao are alternative options available to Koeman. 

Coutinho played the full 90 minutes of El Clasico at the Nou Camp, which saw Barcelona fall behind early on to Fede Valverde's opener after five minutes.

Coutinho played the whole 90 minutes of the Clasico and missed a big second-half chance

Coutinho (right)'s absence could mean more minutes for teenage sensation Ansu Fati (middle)

The home side equalised just three minutes later through teenage sensation Fati and Coutinho nearly gave his side the lead in the second-half but missed a gilt-edged header from inside the penalty area.

Sergio Ramos then scored a penalty to edge Zinedine Zidane's Madrid side back in front before Luka Modric won the game late on with a superb individual effort. 

The result saw Madrid go to the top of the table on Saturday night, with Barcelona six points behind in 12th place after back-to-back league defeats.