Reports: Lionel Messi ruled out of this season's first El Clasico clash
Indications that Lionel Messi will play no part in the season’s first El Clasico, the famed clash of rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona, on November 21 are beginning to emerge. Spanish publication Sport are already reporting that the talismanic Argentine will miss Barcelona’s trip to Santiago Bernabeu.
The La Liga table is quite congested at the top as both Real Madrid and Barcelona are currently level on points with the Galacticos ahead only on goal difference, so the upcoming tie between the two has its importance amplified.
Messi went off injured within the first 15 minutes of the clash against Las Palmas due to a tear in his medial collateral ligament. In late September, the consensus was that he would return to action in 7-8 weeks, already putting his participation in the fixture in doubt. However as the date draws closer, the Barcelona forwards recovery does not seem to be on track to make the date.
In an interview with Guillem Balague, the La Masia graduate spoke about his injury and his anticipation of returning to the pitch but said he would not rush the process and would only return if he was confident that the injury was behind him.
In Messi’s absence, Barcelona have made hard work of some of the matches they have played, but off late, the genius of Neymar and Luis Suarez has begun to filter through as the duo have shouldered a lot of the attacking responsibility in the Argentine captain’s absence.
When they come up against Real Madrid though, they will be facing a different beast altogether. The Spanish giants are unbeaten so far this season and do not look like they are in the mood to relent. They have had injury issues of their own, losing the likes of James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale to injury but have coped well with the losses.
Considering Messi’s splendid record of 21 goals and 13 assists against their El Clasico opponents in 30 appearances, he will no doubt be a massive miss.
Suarez calls Messi ‘best in the world’
After Barcelona’s 2-0 win against Getafe in which Luis Suarez and Neymar scored to guide their side to victory, the Uruguayan spoke about his team-mates, heaping praise on a number of them, Marca reported.
He spoke about Sergi Roberto’s unreal assist as good as a goal. The youngster tipped the ball into Suarez’s path with a flick of his boot while moving in the other direction to fool the defenders. Suarez said: “Sergi's lay-off was almost as good as a goal. You should always have faith in your teammates and be prepared.”
But he was not the only one who the former Liverpool man praised. On the other goalscorer on the night, he said, “Everyone knows what their role is. I'm not going to dribble past three or four players - that's Neymar's thing,” highlighting the Brazilian’s flair and ability get past his marker.
But despite not being on the pitch, Messi was on Suarez's mind. About the Argentine, Suarez said: “Leo is still on everyone's minds because he's the best in the world.”