MX23RW : Thursday, January 16 11:00:42| >> :60:545:545:

Luis Enrique: 'We can cope without Lionel Messi'

Barcelona can cope without injury-stricken Lionel Messi, who is facing two months on the sidelines with knee ligament damage, according to their manager Luis Enrique.

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique is confident that his team can cope without Lionel Messi, who is facing up to two months on the sidelines with a knee problem.

The Argentine was forced off after just 10 minutes of Barca's La Liga clash with Las Palmas on Saturday and subsequent tests revealed that the attacker had suffered ligament damage.

Enrique is aware of the size of the task facing the Catalan outfit without their leading marksman, but the Spaniard has said that his team have "many quality players".

"We'll play no differently than we do with Messi. Messi liberates us and gives us solutions, but we have to make do with what we have. We have many quality players," Enrique told reporters.

"Whenever there's an injury, it's the team who have to react. I don't like to have a single player carrying the team. This is a test and obstacle that we have to overcome.

"We accept the challenge [of playing without Messi] and what we have to do is improve our performance. It's in our hands. You gain experience from situations like this, not when everything goes smoothly. Injuries are the worst thing in football, and we know how important Messi is."

A double from Luis Suarez saw Barcelona beat Las Palmas at Camp Nou on Saturday.

ID:248909: cacheID:248909:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2422:
Written by
Matt Law
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Sergio Busquets for Barcelona on January 4, 2015
Read Next:
Busquets bemoans Barcelona's injuries
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Atletico MadridAtletico19135134122244
2Real Madrid19134243192443
3Barcelona19122551222938
4Athletic Bilbao19106329171236
5Villarreal198653431330
6Mallorca199371921-230
7Real Sociedad198471713428
8GironaGirona198472725228
9Rayo Vallecano196762222025
10Real BetisBetis196762123-225
11Osasuna196762328-525
12Celta Vigo197392830-224
13Sevilla196582128-723
14Las PalmasLas Palmas196492429-522
15Getafe194781316-319
16Leganes194781829-1119
17AlavesAlaves1945102131-1017
18Espanyol1944111731-1416
19Real ValladolidValladolid1943121337-2415
20Valencia1927101829-1113


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!