Messi out for 6-8 weeks due to torn hamstring

Fabregas scores brace as team register easy 4-1 win against Real Betis

BARCELONA: Barcelona’s star Lionel Messi will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks due to a muscle tear in his left hamstring muscle, the Spanish giants said Monday.

 

Messi limped off after just 20 minutes of Barcelona’s 4-1 win over Real Betis on Sunday, the third time this season that he has been forced off with a muscular problem.

 

Barca have 37 points from 13 games ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid. Midfielder Fabregas struck twice in the second half after quickfire goals from Neymar and Pedro in the 35th and 37th minutes had settled the champions. Messi had been replaced by Andres Iniesta after 21 minutes as he called for a change with a hamstring injury.

 

“These games are important for me to be able to prove myself,” said Fabregas, who is to have tests on a sore knee ligament.

 

“I was out of the team for the best part of two games and this upsets you. I want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”