Barcelona look set to be without teenage Argentina star Lionel Messi for at least three months after he picked up a foot injury during Sunday night's Primera Liga match against Real Zaragoza at the Nou Camp.

The 19-year-old Argentinean was injured in the 23rd minute of the match, and was replaced by Ludovic Giuly in Barcelona’s 3-1 win.

It has since been confirmed by the club that Messi has suffered a broken metatarsal and will need to undergo an operation.

“Messi has fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot,” said a statement on the official Barcelona website.

“The treatment will be surgical, and the expected loss is around three months.”

This means Messi will miss the two crucial Champions League matches - against Levski Sofia and Werder Bremen - which the defending champions need to win, or risk facing an embarrassing early exit, in the first group stage of the tournament.

Barca are already without striker Samuel Eto'o, who is out for some time with a serious knee injury, and are also without Brazilian midfielder Edmilson, who was also injured in the first half of Sunday's game, damaging his ankle and is likely to be missing for at least 10 days.

Bookmark/Search this post with:

delicious | digg | google | yahoo | technorati