Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has said that while Lionel Messi's loss will 'hurt' the Spanish club, Luis Enrique's side have not lost any of their confidence to pick up results.
Barcelona are expected to be without Messi for the next two months after he suffered knee ligament damage at the weekend.
Rakitic has refused to play down the loss of the forward, but has insisted that the Catalan club will 'fight together' to get through the period without the 28-year-old.
"Not to have the best player in the world hurts, and it's normal. But to see him happy also motivates us. We will win the games for him and hope he recovers as soon as possible. A new opportunity opens for new player that can do well. We will fight together to do the best possible," Rakitic told reporters.
"We know the importance of Leo for us. Not to have Leo changes everything, because he is who he is, but our confidence and play will not change. We will go forward and together we will do it."
"I see he is very well and is smiling. It's important to start your recovery with good spirits. He has a lot of enthusiasm to get back. I hope he's back as soon as possible."
Barcelona return to Champions League action at home to German side Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday evening.
Matt Law
