Lionel Messi’s Barcelona teammates will take on the rare challenge of coping without their talismanic World Player of the Year when the La Liga leaders host relegation-threatened Real Mallorca on Saturday.
Fullback Daniel Alves, who provided the exquisite pass that sent Messi clear to score on Tuesday, said the Argentine’s absence was a chance for other players in the squad to step up.
“The fact that we don’t have him is an incentive to prove to everyone that we have enough quality to compete without him and show that we can do it just as well as when he’s here,” Alves told a news conference on Wednesday.
The Argentina forward damaged a hamstring in Tuesday’s 2-2 Champions League draw at PSG and has been ruled out of the clash at the Nou Camp when Barca will seek to protect their 13-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid.
Messi’s importance to the Catalan giants extends beyond his goal-scoring exploits.
As well as netting 43 of Barca’s 90 goals in La Liga and eight of 17 in the Champions League this season, he has provided a total of 13 assists in the two competitions, second only to Andres Iniesta, who has one more.
The last time Barca lost Messi to injury was in November 2009 when he was out for a week and missed a Champions League Group F game at home to Inter Milan which Barca won 2-0.
It is still unclear how long he will be sidelined this time and Barca have not ruled him out of Wednesday’s return leg against PSG.
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