Dog bite to blame for former Barcelona player missing a game in Greece

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Former Barcelona forward Carles Perez missed a game with Greek club Aris on Thursday because of a dog bite that required stitches.

The 27-year-old Perez is on loan at Aris, which hosted Azerbaijani club Araz-Naxçıvan in a qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League.

Two days earlier, Perez was out for a walk with his dog when there was an incident with a second dog.

“I had the misfortune of suffering a bite on the inside of my leg while trying to separate my dog from another dog during a minor and unexpected incident,” Perez, on loan from Celta Vigo, wrote on Instagram.

“The wound required stitches, which, although not serious, prevents me from being in optimal condition to compete tonight.”

Perez wrote that he was “very sorry” he can’t be on the field.

He added that he was “recovering at home” and expected to be back with the team in a couple of days.

Thursday’s game ended in a 2-2 draw. Araz-Naxçıvan had won the first leg 2-1, so it advanced on a 4-3 aggregate score.

Perez rose through Barcelona’s youth system and made his La Liga debut in 2019. He later transferred to Roma and then Celta.

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