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Luis Enrique: 'Impossible to replace Lionel Messi'

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique admits that it will be "a big challenge" for his team to cope without Lionel Messi, who suffered a serious knee injury at the weekend.

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique has admitted that it is "impossible" for the Catalan side to replace Lionel Messi following his long-term injury.

The Argentine suffered knee ligament damage in Saturday's La Liga clash with Las Palmas and is expected to be on the sidelines for the next six to eight weeks.

Ahead of Tuesday's Champions League Group E game against Bayer Leverkusen, Enrique spoke about the "big challenge" of learning to cope without the club's leading marksman.

"It's a big challenge to play without Messi. It's a motivation, but you can't replace ‪Messi, that's impossible," Enrique told reporters.

Luis Suarez and Neymar are now Barcelona's only two senior strikers in the first-team squad, but Sandro Ramirez and Munir El-Haddadi have both already featured this season.

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona87012591621
2Real Madrid85301761118
3Villarreal85211715217
4Atletico MadridAtletico8440124816
5Athletic Bilbao8422128414
6Mallorca842286214
7Osasuna84221213-114
8Real BetisBetis833287112
9Rayo Vallecano824298110
10Celta Vigo83141515010
11AlavesAlaves83141112-110
12GironaGirona8233911-29
13Sevilla8233810-29
14Real Sociedad822467-18
15Getafe814356-17
16Leganes814359-47
17Espanyol8215712-57
18Valencia8125513-85
19Real ValladolidValladolid8125417-135
20Las PalmasLas Palmas8035916-73


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