Barcelona’s Argentine star
Lionel Messi will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks
due to a muscle tear in his left hamstring
muscle, the Spanish giants said Monday. The 26-year-old limped off after just 20
minutes of Barcelona’s 4-1 win over Real Betis
on Sunday and was replaced by Andres Iniesta. It was the third time this season that he has
been forced off with a muscular problem
following hamstring and thigh injuries in his
right leg. “The club’s medical services confirmed after
tests this Monday morning that Leo Messi has a
torn hamstring muscle in his left thigh and is
expected to miss the next 6 to 8 weeks,”
Barcelona said in a statement. “The first phase of Messi’s recovery will be
covered in Barcelona and he will then travel to
Buenos Aires,” it added. After Sunday’s match Barcelona boss Gerardo
Martino said Messi’s injury troubles were not
related and the absence of the four-time World
Player of the Year could never be used as en
excuse for the team to not perform. “We have the best player in the world, but we
also have four or five of the next six or seven
best players in the world. Therefore, as a
coach, the absence of Messi should never be
used as an excuse for not winning. “The injury to Messi doesn’t have anything to
do with the previous ones because it is in the
other leg. “We also need to speak with Leo, it is the third
episode he has had in a short time so it is
obviously playing on his mind.”
Messi suffered a bruised thigh during the first
leg od the Spanish Super Cup against Atletico
Madrid which kept him out for a week. He then suffered a small muscle tear in his
right thigh during a La Liga match against
Almeria on September 28 which sidelined him
for three weeks. Last week Messi said on Chinese social
networking site Weibo at the weekend he was
still not fully fit. “Physically I am still not at 100 percent but I am
confident that as I play more matches I will
recover my rhythm,” he said. Despite losing Messi with the score still at 0-0,
Barcelona cruised to victory as two goals in two
minutes from Neymar and Pedro Rodriguez put
them 2-0 up at the break and Cesc Fabregas
struck twice after the interval. The win left Barcelona with 37 points from 13
games, ahead of second-placed Atletico
Madrid. Fabregas said he understood Messi’s
frustration, but that it was possibly best for his
teammate to sit out a couple of weeks to
recover his best form. “Messi needs to be explosive to stand out and
he needs to stop for as long as it requires to be
ok,” the midfielder said after Sunday’s match. “The same thing has happened to me in the
past and it is very frustrating.” Fabregas also limped off after appearing to
injure his knee whilst scoring his second of the
night. The club said Monday he has a sprained knee
ligament and will need roughly one week to
recover.
Lionel Messi will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks
due to a muscle tear in his left hamstring
muscle, the Spanish giants said Monday. The 26-year-old limped off after just 20
minutes of Barcelona’s 4-1 win over Real Betis
on Sunday and was replaced by Andres Iniesta. It was the third time this season that he has
been forced off with a muscular problem
following hamstring and thigh injuries in his
right leg. “The club’s medical services confirmed after
tests this Monday morning that Leo Messi has a
torn hamstring muscle in his left thigh and is
expected to miss the next 6 to 8 weeks,”
Barcelona said in a statement. “The first phase of Messi’s recovery will be
covered in Barcelona and he will then travel to
Buenos Aires,” it added. After Sunday’s match Barcelona boss Gerardo
Martino said Messi’s injury troubles were not
related and the absence of the four-time World
Player of the Year could never be used as en
excuse for the team to not perform. “We have the best player in the world, but we
also have four or five of the next six or seven
best players in the world. Therefore, as a
coach, the absence of Messi should never be
used as an excuse for not winning. “The injury to Messi doesn’t have anything to
do with the previous ones because it is in the
other leg. “We also need to speak with Leo, it is the third
episode he has had in a short time so it is
obviously playing on his mind.”
Messi suffered a bruised thigh during the first
leg od the Spanish Super Cup against Atletico
Madrid which kept him out for a week. He then suffered a small muscle tear in his
right thigh during a La Liga match against
Almeria on September 28 which sidelined him
for three weeks. Last week Messi said on Chinese social
networking site Weibo at the weekend he was
still not fully fit. “Physically I am still not at 100 percent but I am
confident that as I play more matches I will
recover my rhythm,” he said. Despite losing Messi with the score still at 0-0,
Barcelona cruised to victory as two goals in two
minutes from Neymar and Pedro Rodriguez put
them 2-0 up at the break and Cesc Fabregas
struck twice after the interval. The win left Barcelona with 37 points from 13
games, ahead of second-placed Atletico
Madrid. Fabregas said he understood Messi’s
frustration, but that it was possibly best for his
teammate to sit out a couple of weeks to
recover his best form. “Messi needs to be explosive to stand out and
he needs to stop for as long as it requires to be
ok,” the midfielder said after Sunday’s match. “The same thing has happened to me in the
past and it is very frustrating.” Fabregas also limped off after appearing to
injure his knee whilst scoring his second of the
night. The club said Monday he has a sprained knee
ligament and will need roughly one week to
recover.
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