Barcelona will be without the world's best player for three weeks, after Lionel Messi suffered a groin injury against Atletico Madrid in a La Liga fixture on Wednesday evening.
The Catalan giant did not cede any more ground to Real Madrid at the top of the table, remaining three points behind in the Spanish title race after Madrid drew 1-1 against Villarreal.
More damaging for Barcelona manager Luis Enrique is how to deal with the sudden absence of Messi, who limped off in the 59th minute at Camp Nou stadium following a challenge from Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin.
Barcelona revealed late on Wednesday night that Messi had torn a muscle in his groin and would miss the games against Sporting Gijon and Celta Vigo and the UEFA Champions League fixture against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Messi has eight goals so far this season, though Enrique can still call on the two other members of Barcelona's attacking trident, and arguably the two best players in the world, in Neymar and Luis Suarez.
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Sportswriter at Newsweek.
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