Spanish international Sergio Busquets had to be stretchered from the pitch during Barcelona's Copa del Rey semi-final, second leg match against Villarreal on Wednesday with a serious looking ankle injury.

The 26-year-old had his right ankle stood on by Villarreal midfielder Tomas Pina in the build-up to the hosts equaliser on the night scored by former Barca man Jonathan dos Santos.

Neymar had opened the scoring and given Barcelona a 4-1 lead on aggregate after just three minutes from Lionel Messi's cross.

However, the loss of Busquets could prove an expensive price to pay for a place in the final for the Catalans as they face Real Madrid in a crucial La Liga clash and host Manchester City in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie in the coming weeks.