Barcelona's Lionel Messi injury: misses El Clásico, out three weeks
Barcelona's Lionel Messi had to be substituted early into the LaLiga game against Sevilla after falling awkwardly and damaging his right arm.
FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi was injured early in the league game against Sevilla at the Camp Nou and the decision was made that he should be substituted. There is the small matter of El Clásico just a week away, after all. First diagnosis indicated that the damage will keep him out of the midweek Inter Milan match in the Champions League and it was touch and go regarding the Madrid encounter. Since then the Catalan club has confirmed that he will miss both, and potentially be out for three weeks.
Messi arm injury worry for Barça
FC Barcelona were already two goals up on the team that were leading LaLiga going into the weekend's fixtures. A beautiful curling strike from Philippe Coutinho in the second minute was followed by a perfectly measured pass into the corner of the net from Barça's talismanic Argentine. But that goal was just minutes before the number 10 fell to the ground, injuring his right arm.
After being treated on the field the player had to leave with strapping and was substituted. Ernesto Valverde, and Barça fans around the globe, were keeping their fingers crossed ahead of the Champions League match on Wednesday and then the clash against their bitter rivals, Real Madrid.
Shortly after leaving the pitch, the player got into a private car and headed straight to the club's medical centre for further tests. Later in the evening, Barcelona confirmed the news:
"Lionel Messi will Tests carried out on the first team player Leo Messi have confirmed that he has a fracture of the radial bone in his right arm. He will be out for approximately three weeks."