Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti has been ruled out for the next three weeks with a hamstring problem, the Catalan club confirmed on Thursday.

Umtiti picked up the injury during France training on Wednesday ahead of Friday's 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier with Sweden and was promptly replaced in the squad by Eliaquim Mangala.

Tests have since determined that the extent of the knock, which will also see him miss Les Bleus' friendly against Ivory Coast on Nov. 15.

"We can confirm that first team player Samuel Umtiti has a torn hamstring in his left leg and will be out for approximately three weeks," a statement from Barca read on Thursday.

As well as the two France games, it's likely the centre-back will miss club games against Malaga, Celtic, Real Sociedad and Hercules.

However, if he recovers within the anticipated time he would be available for the Clasico against Real Madrid at Camp Nou on Dec. 3.

It's the second time this season Umtiti, who's made an impressive start to life in La Liga, has been injured.

The former Lyon man missed three weeks in September and October after injuring his knee in training ahead of the league game against Atletico Madrid.

Barca have been struggling for numbers in defence in recent weeks, with Gerard Pique, Jeremy Mathieu and Jordi Alba all sidelined with injuries, leaving Umtiti and Javier Mascherano as the only available centre-backs.

However, Pique, who hasn't joined up with the Spain squad this week, is back in training and will be available for next week's game against Malaga.

Alba is expected to be ready for that match, too. Mathieu's unlikely to be back in time, but the Frenchman isn't far away from a return to full training.