Messi hurt as Barca ease to victory

BARCELONA warmed up for next week’s ‘Clash for the Title’ against Real Madrid with a timely 3-0 win in Valencia — and an ill-timed injury to their one irreplaceable player, Leo Messi.

A muscle tear in his left leg will keep the Argentinian out for at least a month and six matches. Five of them are games Barca ought to win, although their away record has been patchy, but El Clásico is of course the one that matters.

“It’s the worst thing that could have happened to us,” commented the club’s director of sport Txiki Begiristain. “He’s a player who destabilises the opposition and he’s in form.”