Lionel Messi has been ruled out for six weeks after suffering a muscle tear in Tuesday's victory over Celtic.
Forward out for six weeks following muscle tear
Lionel Messi has been ruled out for six weeks after suffering a muscle tear in Tuesday's UEFA Champions League victory over Celtic.
The Argentine wonderkid damaged his left thigh and was replaced by Thierry Henry in the 36th minute.
The news of Messi's absence will come as a blow to manager Frank Rijkaard as the Dutchman closes in on a critical stage in Barca's season.
The Spanish giants are currently labouring in the Primera Division title race - five points behind leaders Real Madrid - while they are into quarter-finals of the Champions League after their 4-2 aggregate success against Celtic.
The 20-year-old is now likely to miss six league games, the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Valencia and both of Barca's Champions League quarter-final matches.
Messi sustained a similar injury in December's win over Valencia, with the forward returning in the latter stages of January.
Puyol fury
And captain Carles Puyol has blamed the Spanish media for Messi's latest injury setback, hitting out at the pressure applied on Rijkaard to start him against Celtic.
"The doctors spoke and said there was a risk of injury and you (the media) put pressure on him to play, saying that he always has to play," fumed Puyol. "Now we're all left to regret the decision.
"On Saturday there was more risk than today, but if he hadn't played and we had got a bad result I'm sure you would have said it was because he wasn't on the pitch.
"Leo's injury is bad news, so now let's see what you have to say about that.
"You've got to leave the doctors and physios to do their job because they know more about these things than you do."