Looking desolate, Lionel Messi sat on the ground and slowly began rolling down his socks, knowing his night was over. Barcelona fans in the stands could not hide their apprehension, sensing the team’s biggest star was in trouble.
Messi had just pulled a muscle in Barcelona’s 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou on Wednesday, and tests showed he will be sidelined for three weeks with a groin strain.
Although the injury leaves Barcelona facing the difficult task of playing without the star midfielder, it has no need to panic. The Catalan club has coped extremely well recently when playing without Messi, who was out for nearly two months last year with a knee injury.
In the nine games he missed from September through November, Barcelona won seven, drawing one and losing another a 2-1 defeat at Sevilla. Coach Luis Enrique’s team outscored opponents 21-6 as Neymar and Luis Suarez stepped up to make up for their teammate’s absence. The two scored 18 goals between them with Messi sidelined.
“Last year, Messi had an even longer injury and we overcame it,” said Luis Enrique, whose team still went on to win the Spanish league.