The hiatus has not been a holiday for Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard, who woke on Thursday to find out that he will have to try to maintain his 11-point lead without club captain and right back Carles Puyol.

Puyol twisted his left ankle in Spain's 0-0 World Cup draw against Serbia-Montenegro on Wednesday.

"It's going to be two to three weeks before he can play again," said Barca doctor Lluis Til.

"Every player responds differently to this type of injury and he's no exception but it's going to be very difficult for him to be fit to play Real Madrid next week."

Rijkaard will also be without two important midfielders, Rafa Marquez and Demetrio Albertini.

Marquez is suspended and Albertini is injured so Rijkaard is expected to dig deep into his reserves and give Fernando Navarro and Gerard Lopez rare outings.

Barca's bitter rivals Real Madrid are a distant second but will be looking to keep alive their slim chances of lifting their 30th league title with a win, or at least a draw, at relegation-threatened Albacete later on Sunday.

"Losing at Albacete would finish any chances we have of winning the championship," admitted Real defender Walter Samuel.

What the Argentine international didn't say was that if Real don't win the league this season they will have gone two years without a single trophy of any description, their longest barren spell since the early 1980s.

Real face Albacete, who lie next to bottom and seem set to return to the second division after just two years in the top flight, without Zinedine Zidane.

Nevertheless, Real coach Wanderley Luxemburgo will not be too concerned about the absence of the declining three-times World Player of the Year as he has a ready-made replacement in the shape of Jose Maria Gutierrez.

More worring for Real's Brazilian boss will be the left thigh strain sustained by David Beckham in England's 2-0 win over Azerbaijan on Wednesday, in which he bagged one of his country's goals and the situation surrounding Brazilian superstar Ronaldo who had to delay his return to Spain following Brazil's World Cup qualifiers because of family problems.

"Ronaldo has told the club about the situation and they have given him permission not to return on the same plane as fellow countryman Roberto Carlos so that he will have time to resolve the problem," Real said on their website.

"It is not known whether he will arrive in time to train with his team mates."

Ronaldo missed a league match against Numancia in January when he flew back to Brazil because of a family illness.

Beckham didn't train on Thursday and was despatched by Real doctors to a local clinic for a scan on the troublesome muscle, which has been a chronic problem this season for the England captain.

Albacete looks weak enough to provide Real's struggling strikers with a chance to end their barren patch. Ronaldo has only scored once in his last 13 games for club and country and showed his frustration in Madrid's most recent game against Malaga by throwing a plastic water bottle at fans who insulted him as he left the field. The Brazilian superstar insisted he wouldn't let the disapproval get him down. "I'm used to facing up to criticism. It's always been like this during my career. I know I'm not going through a good spell but I'm capable of overcoming the situation," Ronaldo said this week.

Captain Raul Gonzalez, in poor form all season, was left out of Spain's starting lineup for Wednesday's game against Serbia-Montenegro, although he played the second half of the goalless draw.

Michael Owen also came in for criticism this week for his failure to convert a series of chances during England's 2-0 win over Azerbaijan in a World Cup qualifier.

FIXTURES
Saturday (kick off times in GMT): Real Sociedad v Osasuna (1600), Real Zaragoza v Valencia (1800), Villarreal v Athletic Bilbao (2000)

Sunday: Barcelona v Real Betis (1500), Levante v Deportivo La Coruna (1500), Malaga v Getafe (1500), Racing Santander v Espanyol (1500), Sevilla v Numancia (1500), Atletico Madrid v Real Mallorca (1700), Albacete v Real Madrid (1900)