November 12- Lionel Messi has been ruled out for the rest of the year with a torn hamstring muscle, with Barcelona’s world player of the year missing at least seven games for club and country.
Barca have insisted there is no great panic and that Messi will be fully fit by the start of the year and is in no danger of missing next year’s World Cup.
But he will be unavailable for Argentina’s friendlies against Ecuador and Bosnia-Hercegovina and two Champions League games though Barca have already qualified for the knockout stages.
The Argentine superstar limped off during Sunday’s win over Real Betis and more worrying is the fact this is his fourth hamstring problem in seven months.
A Barcelona statement read: “The club’s medical services confirmed that Leo Messi has a torn hamstring muscle in his left thigh and is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks.
“The first phase of Messi’s recovery will be covered in Barcelona and he will then travel to Buenos Aires.”
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas told Spanish television: “He needs to take as much time as he needs, to recover and get back to his level. We need him at his best. I had something similar at Arsenal. You think you’re OK, but you’re not.
“I had this injury and I wasn’t right for up to a year and a half – it’s a really frustrating injury. You need to take whatever time you need because if you don’t it won’t heal properly.”