Barcelona centre-back Jules Kounde has put his substitution against Valencia on Saturday evening down to muscular fatigue rather than anything more serious.

The Frenchman was replaced in the 74th minute of the contest at Mestalla, which was decided by a last-gasp winner from Robert Lewandowski, with the result moving Xavi's side to the top of La Liga.

There were fears that Kounde had suffered another injury when he was replaced by Gerard Pique, with the 23-year-old only just returning from a hamstring issue.

However, the summer arrival from Sevilla has said that he was suffering with "overload".

"I think it's just an overload, nothing serious. They (the organisers) should think a little more about the players. There are a lot of matches. We are sliding down a crazy path, wanting to play so many matches. But those at the top are obviously not worried," L'Equipe quotes Kounde as saying.

Meanwhile, when asked about Kounde after the match, Xavi said that the defender "has strong discomfort" but did not suffer a potentially long-term problem.

"Kounde has strong discomfort, but it doesn't look like an injury," the head coach told reporters.

The centre-back has made 10 appearances for Barcelona this season, contributing three assists, and he has been involved in his side's last four league games after recovering from injury.

Kounde will now be bidding to be fit for his side's next game against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League, while the Catalan outfit will also take on Almeria and Osasuna before the break for the World Cup.

Eric Garcia also had to be substituted in the first half of the clash with Valencia, with Barcelona later confirming that the centre-back had suffered a groin problem during the contest.

Ronald Araujo, Memphis Depay, Andreas Christensen and Sergi Roberto are already on the sidelines for the Catalan side through injury.

"It was not an excellent match by any means. We played with a bit of anxiety today. I think we were affected by Wednesday. With the bad dynamic we've been having this season, when Lewandowski scored, my first thought was: 'They'll disallow it'," Xavi told reporters after the win over Valencia.

"We were better than Valencia and we deserved that winner. We are very happy with three points. The team deserved it. It gives us confidence and morale.

"I think that in the 11 months I have been here, the team has improved a lot. We have to play much better, and take better decisions. When you don't win, everybody's alarm goes off. This is Barcelona."

Barcelona have now won 10, drawn one and lost one of his 12 league games this season to collect 31 points, scoring 29 goals in the process and conceding just four. body check tags ::