Luis Enrique: 'We can cope without Lionel Messi'

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 27 September 2015

Barcelona can cope without injury-stricken Lionel Messi, who is facing two months on the sidelines with knee ligament damage, according to their manager Luis Enrique.

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique is confident that his team can cope without Lionel Messi, who is facing up to two months on the sidelines with a knee problem.

The Argentine was forced off after just 10 minutes of Barca's La Liga clash with Las Palmas on Saturday and subsequent tests revealed that the attacker had suffered ligament damage.

Enrique is aware of the size of the task facing the Catalan outfit without their leading marksman, but the Spaniard has said that his team have "many quality players".

"We'll play no differently than we do with Messi. Messi liberates us and gives us solutions, but we have to make do with what we have. We have many quality players," Enrique told reporters.

"Whenever there's an injury, it's the team who have to react. I don't like to have a single player carrying the team. This is a test and obstacle that we have to overcome.

"We accept the challenge [of playing without Messi] and what we have to do is improve our performance. It's in our hands. You gain experience from situations like this, not when everything goes smoothly. Injuries are the worst thing in football, and we know how important Messi is."

A double from Luis Suarez saw Barcelona beat Las Palmas at Camp Nou on Saturday.