Barcelona have confirmed that their captain and talisman Lionel Messi will be out for three weeks due to an arm fracture he sustained against Sevilla yesterday. Messi assisted Philippe Coutinho’s opening goal and scored Barca’s second goal in the 12th minute. However, his stay on the pitch was not for long.
In the 26th minute, Messi fell while vying for the ball, landing on his right arm in the process. He had to leave the field. Tests have shown that the Argentine has a fracture on the radial bone in his right arm. Hence, he will be out for about three weeks.
Messi will miss 6 matches that includes next Sunday’s El Clasico at Camp Nou. He’ll also miss both of Barcelona’s Champions League legs against Inter Milan. However, due to the international break, Messi should be able to play Barcelona’s match against Atletico Madrid on November 25.
Messi’s injury just adds to Barcelona’s injury woes as they already are without Samuel Umtiti and Thomas Vermaelen for some time.
Barcelona eventually won the match 4-2 with Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic adding to the two goals scored by Coutinho and Messi. An own goal by Clement Lenglet was Sevilla’s first goal before Luis Muriel added a second in stoppage time. The win was a very crucial one for Barcelona. Not only did they put an end to their 4-match winless streak but they also returned to the top of the La Liga. Sevilla have slipped to third place after Alaves’ win over Celta Vigo took them to second place.
Barcelona’s next match is a Champions League fixture against Inter Milan on Wednesday.
