Barcelona will be without striker Lionel Messi for 7-8 weeks, starting with Tuesday’s Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen, after the Argentina forward injured his left knee.
“It’s a shame for football,” Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voeller said. “You simply like to watch him play.”
The last time Leverkusen played at Barcelona in 2012, Messi scored five goals in a 7-1 victory.
Messi was hurt on Saturday in the 2-1 win over Las Palmas in the Spanish league. Neymar played, but missed a penalty after Luis Suarez had already scored the opening two goals.
Because of the injury, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique faces the challenge of picking an attacking formation that will keep his team in competitions as Messi recovers.
It’s great news for our rival, but for us it’s a test and we have to accept it and overcome it. Injuries are the worst thing in football and they carry a special weight when it’s Messi.
— Luis Enrique, Barcelona Manager
Bayer Leverkusen has recovered from its Bundesliga mini-slump of three losses with two straight victories.
The latest win was a 3-0 victory over Werder Bremen with Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and Hakan Calhanoglu both on the bench at the start.
But heading into the match against Barcelona, Leverkusen still remembers the 7-1 beating from three years ago.
“We want to show that we won’t go under like that again,” Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno said.