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Javier Mascherano: 'We must deal with Lionel Messi absence'

Javier Mascherano calls on his Argentina teammates to pull together in the absence of the injured Lionel Messi, who will miss their upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Javier Mascherano has called on his Argentina teammates to 'come together' in a bid to ease the blow of losing Lionel Messi for their upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay.

Messi is currently on the sidelines with damaged knee ligaments and has missed Barcelona's last two matches with the problem.

Mascherano, however, who also plays with Messi at club level, is confident that his country will manage without their leading marksman.

"We are going to need more than everyone, but we are missing the most important player that we have. We've lost him before and the team responded," Mascherano told reporters.

"It's always important to have Messi. We are not going to have him and it has to be an objective to take a step forward and not an excuse. These things happen, we must recover in the best way and pull forward. We will try to make sure Leo's absence is not an excuse."

Mascherano is expected to take the armband for Argentina in the absence of Messi, who has been pencilled in for a return to action in late November.

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2Real Madrid1393128111730
3Atletico MadridAtletico148512181329
4Villarreal137422521425
5Athletic Bilbao146532013723
6Osasuna146441922-322
7GironaGirona146352018221
8Mallorca146351312121
9Real BetisBetis145541616020
10Real Sociedad145361111018
11Celta Vigo145362224-218
12Sevilla145361318-518
13Rayo Vallecano134451314-116
14Leganes143561319-614
15Getafe142751011-113
16AlavesAlaves144191524-913
17Las PalmasLas Palmas143381825-712
18Valencia122461219-710
19Espanyol133191226-1410
20Real ValladolidValladolid142391027-179


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