S Gijon v Barcelona preview

Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique expects his team to adapt to Lionel Messi’s absence when they face Sporting Gijon on Saturday.

The Argentina captain, who scored four goals and set up four in Barca’s opening five La Liga matches, was replaced during Wednesday’s game against Atletico Madrid with a groin injury that will sideline him for three weeks.

“Not to have Messi is always difficult but we have proved that we have enough resources to not depend on him,” Enrique told a news conference on Friday.

“To have a player injured is bad news, even worse when it’s the best player in the world.

“In order to win titles, we have to overcome situations like this one, having to do without important players. The team did fantastically well last season without him.”

A knee injury kept Messi out for two months last season but Luis Suarez and Neymar picked up the slack for the Catalan giants, scoring 20 of Barcelona’s 23 goals in that time.

Barca signed Paco Alcacer as their fourth-choice striker from Valencia last month and the Spain international …

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