Lionel Messi injury: Barcelona star to miss three weeks with ruptured adductor as Atletico Madrid secure draw

Lionel Messi suffered a ruptured adductor in Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid Getty


Lionel Messi suffered a ruptured adductor in his groin to rule him out of the next three weeks, with Barcelonamanager Luis Enrique claiming the blow means “football loses”.

Messi limped out of Barcelona’s 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night just before the hour mark, and he faces a race against time to be fit for the Champions League clash with Manchester City at the Nou Camp on 19 October.

With Messi sidelined, Barcelona risk conceding more ground to Real Madrid in the La Liga battle, although their bitter rivals could only manage a 1-1 draw against Villarreal on Wednesday as they failed to take advantage of Barcelona’s draw. The Catalans sit three points behind Real, who lead the way in La Liga by two points over Sevilla.


"To lose Lionel Messi means football loses and we lose," said Barcelona head coach Enrique.

He added: "Now we have to look for other solutions. With Leo we are much stronger, but without him we are still a strong team.

"Last year we had an unfortunate situation with a longer-term injury and my team played well."