The Argentina forward faces a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a groin injury in Wednesday’s 1-1 La Liga draw with Atletico Madrid.
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The Argentine captain is set to miss his country’s World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Paraguay next month as well as Barca’s Champions League clash at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Leonel Messi looked unhappy and despondent on Wednesday evening during Barcelona’s 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid, as he sat on the turf knowing his night was over.
To lose Lionel Messi means football loses and we lose.
“I’m not a doctor and I can’t give any information here but when Messi is injured we all lose, football loses”, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said.
What the 1-1 draw did was leave Real Madrid in control of the La Liga table in this early part of the season.
Arda Turan is the favourite to replace Messi after deputising ably on the other side of the Barca frontline when Neymar was absent at the start of the season because of his participation in the Rio Olympics. “With Messi we are stronger, but we will continue being strong”.
He played the full 90 minutes for Barcelona in the games against Celtic and Leganes last week.
They led through Ivan Rakitic’s early header but after Sergio Busquets and Messi were taken off with knocks they immediately conceded through Angel Correa and then weathered late pressure from Atleti.
Victory against Atletico would have taken Barcelona to within a point of their rivals at the summit, with the momentum swinging very much in their favour. The visitors eliminated the Catalans from last year’s Champions League, denying them a chance to win the European crown twice.
“The reality is that we are all looking for what is best for Messi and all the players at our club”.
Atletico leveled moments after Messi left.
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The Madrid defender helped Villarreal go in front in the first-half stoppage time when he blocked Manuel Trigueros’ shot with his arm, setting up Bruno Soriano to score the penalty.
