How Can Barcelona Cope Without Andres Iniesta for the Next 2 Months?

“It is impossible not to get on with or to fight with Andres,” says Sergio Ramos, in Iniesta’s part-autobiography, part-biography told by the people who know him best, The Artist: Being Iniesta. “It is also impossible to kick him.

“Sometimes you catch him without intending to, but there are other times when he gets away from you, and you have to choose between kicking him and bringing him down or letting him go. And in the end you let him get away.

“It’s Andres! You can’t kick him. Then another player gets away from you and this one, yes, you can put in the stand if you want to. But you can’t kick Andres.”

It’s a shame that nobody told Enzo Perez. The Valencia midfielder saw Barcelona’s man skipping away from him on the Mestalla Stadium turf and decided he wouldn’t get any further.

Perhaps egged on by the home crowd, he lunged in from behind, scissoring the Barcelona captain and sending him crashing to the ground.

Almost before he had hit the grass, Iniesta was calling for help from the bench. He knew his game was over. In those moments he may even have feared his season was over.

It wasn’t the game’s worst challenge by any stretch, but it wasn’t a good one either. However, Perez did take the ball, and referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco didn’t caution the Valencia man.

Initial fears were that Iniesta would be out for three months at least, with Barcelona revealing he had a partial tear in his knee ligament. 

His visible distress on the pitch was worrying to see and when he arrived back at the Ciutat Esportiva, the Spain international’s wife, his parents, his sister and his brother-in-law were there to greet him and support him.

Luckily for Iniesta and Barcelona, the club’s full medical report revealed he would only be sidelined for between six and eight weeks. That means if his recovery goes well, he may make it back for the Clasico at the Camp Nou on December 4. Against Real Madrid having the 32-year-old in the team would be a big boon, but even if he does recover to the most optimistic schedule, playing in a game that intense would be a risk.

At the very least, Iniesta will miss the games against  Granada (H), Manchester City (A), Sevilla (A), Malaga (H), Celtic (A), Real Sociedad (A) and Hercules (H); the last of that list is a Copa del Rey clash, the rest being La Liga or Champions League fixtures.

That would take him up to six weeks’ absence. Beyond that there is the Clasico, a Champions League game against Borussia Monchengladbach (H), Osasuna (A) and a friendly in Qatar against Al-Ahli. 

…

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com