Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is set to miss the next three weeks after sustaining a groin injury during the 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid.
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This setback is expected to keep Messi out of Argentina’s upcoming South American World Cup qualifiers against both Peru and Paraguay.
Atletico equalised just minutes after Messi’s departure through substitute Angel Correa, who capitalised on Javier Mascherano’s slip to slot the ball into the bottom corner after the hour mark.
Barcelona have already diagnosed a groin strain and believe he will be sidelined for around three weeks. “To lose Lionel Messi means football loses and we lose”, said Barca boss Luis Enrique.
Bauza, speaking on Thursday, suggested the Spanish champions had not been careful enough when it comes to managing Messi’s playing time this season, with the forward having played the entirety of all but one of Barca’s eight matches prior to leaving the field against Atletico. He is expect to be out for three weeks.
Unbeaten Sevilla, 1-0 winners over city rivals Real Betis on Tuesday, are two points behind Real Madrid after five matches.
“There’s no question we are stronger with Messi”, Iniesta told Cadena Cope radio ahead of Saturday’s match at Sporting Gijon.
And Enrique hopes his side can show similar resilience to avoid slipping further behind Real Madrid in the title race. The Catalan club has coped extremely well recently when playing without Messi, who was out for almost two months a year ago with a knee injury. “We now have to look for different solutions”.
Barca had plenty of possession in the first half but Atletico, who knocked them out of the Champions League last season, forced them into tight spaces and constricted their ability to create openings.
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“We deserved to win based on our approach and how we played”, Enrique added. And this game on Wednesday was against Atletico Madrid, a talented team with high aspirations that has given Barca trouble, so Messi was always going to play 90 minutes if fit. “It was a team problem in the first half”. Villarreal were the better side in the first-half and got their reward just before half-time when Sergio Ramos handled Manu Trigueros’s shot and referee Jose Luis Gonzalez pointed to the spot.
