Barcelona
have said that Lionel Messi "will be out for around seven to eight
weeks" with a knee injury; we have the news and consider what options Luis
Enrique now has.
Lionel Messi
is set to miss up to four UEFA Champions League games after suffering a knee
injury.
The Barcelona
striker went down four minutes into their 2-1 Liga defeat of Las Palmas and was
taken off soon after and transferred to hospital. The club then announced:
"Messi has a tear in the internal collateral ligament of his left knee. He
will be out for around seven to eight weeks."
Barcelona
were held 1-1 in their Group E opener at Roma and welcome Bayer Leverkusen on
Tuesday. Messi is also likely to be missing for the double-header against BATE
Borisov and could struggle to return in time for the visit of Roma on 24
November, days after Barcelona go to Real Madrid in the Liga.
Seeing any
player limp off is never good news for a manager, however for Luis Enrique,
Messi's injury could not have come at a worse time.
Already
without goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, defenders Thomas Vermaelen and Jordi Alba in
addition to long-term absentee Rafinha before facing Las Palmas, Messi's knee
problem now leaves Enrique with a huge hole to fill with some big games fast
approaching.
Loyal to the
club's 4-3-3 philosophy, it is likely the 45-year-old will use Ivan Rakitić in
a further advanced position as he did against Atlético Madrid earlier this
season. However the beneficiaries of Messi's misfortune are likely to be Javier
Mascherano, who can expect an extended run in the centre of midfield, and young
attacking duo Munir El Haddadi and Sandro Ramírez. The two young attackers now have their chance
to impress the coach and show that whenever one of the fabled front three of
Messi, Neymar or Luis Suárez are not around they are more than capable of
filling the void.
Post a Comment