Ernesto Valverde has ruled out a quicker return for Lionel Messi who fractured his arm in the 4-2 win over Sevilla in the La Liga
Messi fell awkwardly on his arm resulting in the fracture at the stroke of the 16th minute. The Argentine international is expected to be out for a prolonged period and will miss the Champions League clash against Inter Milan and the all important El Classico with Real Madrid.
Although Valverde has enough ammunition at his disposal but Messi’s influence cannot be denied and the Spaniard manager admits he needs to find an alternative way.
“We have to find a way to play without him,
“We will certainly miss him, but we hope we miss him while winning.
“You guys [the media] aren’t the only ones trying to find out how we will try to replace Leo. The coaches from the other teams are as well and I’m not going to give away what we are going to do.
“We can’t have all the weight of Leo Messi on one player, we must do it all together. Messi is one of a kind but I think we have the players to step up and fill the vacuum.
“He’s the best player, what do you want me to say? We depend on him, like we depend on others, but he is the best.
“The doctors say about three weeks and sometimes people talk about getting back sooner. I’d love to say it will be magic and next week he’ll be back but I don’t think that is the case.”
