© EuroFootball.com
Not long ago, Lionel Messi, who was determined to regain his athletic form as quickly as possible after being hit by injuries, is forced to radically change his plans.
The leader of the Catalonia club's attacks spent only 22 minutes on the field in the match against the "Real Betis" team last Sunday and after a collision with the opponent, he had to sit on the bench due to leg pain. In his place, midfielder Andres Iniesta continued the game.
Initially, it was thought that L. Messi had only suffered a minor knock to the Achilles tendon, and "Barcelona" coach Gerardo Martino assured that this injury was not a consequence of older injuries of the footballer.
However, during a health check-up in Barcelona on Monday, much gloomier forecasts were confirmed. "Barcelona" medical staff determined that L. Messi had severely injured his left Achilles tendon and would be out of the line-up for at least 6 weeks. It is not ruled out that in case the footballer's rehabilitation takes longer, the attacker will have to miss 8 weeks without football.
It is already clear that without the Argentine at the "Barcelona" club, they will have to play in at least eight matches: in the Spanish championship matches against "Granada", Bilbao "Athletic", "Villarreal", "Getafe" and "Elche", in the fifth and sixth round matches of the Champions League with Ajax of Amsterdam and Glasgow Celtic, and in the first stage of the King's Cup clash with Cartagena away and at the Camp Nou stadium.
This is the third and most serious Achilles tendon injury for L. Messi this season, and in the last seven months, the Argentine has suffered a similar injury for the fifth time.
