With injuries to Lionel Messi and
Rafinha, with the later facing a six-
month lay-off, and with the club
unable to register summer signing
Arda Turan until their transfer ban is
lifted in January, Barcelona could probably have done without further
fitness issues to their starting lineup. Worry was that the Blaugrana would
struggle for form in the absence of La
Pulga, as witnessed in their Champions
League encounter with Bayer
Leverkusen, despite their hard-fought
2-1 win at Camp Nou. Now the Catalan giants have been
rocked with another injury to an
integral figure of the club’s squad.
Captain Andres Iniesta picked up a
knock in Tuesday’s Champions
League victory, which forced him off the pitch after 60 minutes. The club’s official website revealed that the diagnosis was a hamstring
injury to his right leg, with the medical
release stating that the Spaniard’s
“recovery will dictate his return to
training”. Although no return date was set in the
club's medical release, Spanish
publication SPORT report that 31-year- old could miss up to four weeks of
action. "The injury to Iniesta brought
everyone down, first for the player
himself but also because it’s almost a
joke at this stage," manager Luis
Enrique revealed about the wear that
Iniesta's injury inflicted on the team's morale. "It’s another handicap but we’ll show
that we’re competitive. My players
deserve a huge amount of credit for
turning around a very dificult
situation." The Furia Roja ace will join team-mates
Lionel Messi, Rafinha, Thomas
Vermaelen, Adriano, and Chilean
goalkeeper Claudio Bravo on the
sidelines
Luckily for Luis Enrique’s men,
Barcelona will enter a two-week break
after the next round of La Liga
fixtures, from October 3 until October
17. On the downside, the Blaugrana will
have to do without their influential
midfielder for Saturday’s all-important
trip to Sevilla.