Lionel Messi set to miss two months but, believe it or not, stats show Barcelona are better without him

• Lionel Messi is expected to be sidelined for eight weeks with ankle injury
• Barcelona are suffering a player shortage that could wreck their season
• New signings Arda Turan and Alexi Vidal cannot play until January
• Luis Suarez and Neymar will be supported by Sandro and Munir El Haddadi

By Pete Jenson for MailOnline

Published: 07:06 EST, 28 September 2015 | Updated: 10:29 EST, 28 September 2015

When Lionel Messi went down clutching his knee on Saturday the Nou Camp held its breath because they knew what was coming - first the anxious wait for news on the injury and now the anxious wait to see if they can survive for the next two months without him.

The case for optimism is that statistics actually show that the Catalans can cope without their talisman - Barcelona win 71 per cent of games with Messi playing but a surprising 89 per cent when he's not in the side.

The Treble winners also score more and concede fewer goals without Messi on the pitch, while their average points per game rises from 2.3 to 2.7 when arguably the world's best player is unavailable (see table below). 

Nonetheless, Messi's loss does add to the pressure on the depth of Barcelona's squad. 

(From left) Gerard Pique, Neymar amd Luis Suarez train knowing they will be without Lionel Messi 

Brazilian Neymar will have to shoulder some of the goalscoring burden while Messi is sidelined

Former Liverpool striker Suarez manages a smile after scoring a brace against Las Palmas at the weekend

Head coach Luis Enrique believes Barcelona have been poorly treated over their enforced transfer ban

In previous seasons it would have been less of a problem but thanks to a mixture of poor planning, bad luck and some perceived FIFA rough justice, Barcelona are on the brink of a player shortage that could wreck their season.

Messi will be back for the November 21 Clasico and new signings Arda Turan and Alexi Vidal can both play from January onwards when Barcelona will also be able to sign more players, but until then they are hanging on – down to the bare bones and counting down the days until Christmas when reinforcements will arrive like Christmas presents for brow-beaten boss Luis Enrique.

Last season he had the world’s best forward line at his disposal with Messi, Luis Suarez – who scored twice on Saturday – and Neymar scoring 122 goals between them. Pedro was the super-sub. 

Few teams in the world could boast a better 12th man and beyond the Canary Islander there was also the force of nature that is Adama Traore, and the precocious talent of Gerard Deulofeu who was due to come back from his loan spell at Sevilla.

This summer Pedro defected to Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, Adama moved to Aston Villa and Deulofeu switched permanently to Everton leaving just youngsters Sandro and Munir El Haddadi to cover the three fantastics. 

Messi is tended to by Las Palmas keeper Javi Varas after injuring his knee at the Nou Camp

The Argentine's injury has left Barcelona with a player shortage crisis, especially in attack

The Barcelona talisman has already scored six goals, including a brace against Levante (above), this season

Typically Barça – having suffered no major injuries to their forward line last season – are now without Messi and will need their young forwards to play regularly and not just off the bench when the stars need resting.

Barcelona can point to the bad luck but supporters are also questioning why they allowed both Adama and Deulofeu to move on and why Pedro was not persuaded to stay. He seemed to have decided that the job of ‘extra’ in Barcelona’s forward line was for a young player just starting out or for a veteran who would benefit from not playing every week. 

In his prime at 28 and with the European Championship just around the corner it seems his mind was made up and Barça felt they were doing the right thing by dropping his buyout clause to €30m so that he could leave if a club came in.

New signing Arda Turan (left), pictured speaking with Ivan Rakitic, is not allowed to play until January

Barcelona's player crisis has not been helped by decision to sell Pedro (left) to Chelsea

Gerard Deulofeu (left) and Adama Traore were also allowed to leave for Everton and Aston Villa respectively

Barca’s attacking crisis is made worse by the fact that midfielders Andres Iniesta and Rafinha who could have moved forward into the front three, are either needed in a threadbare midfield or, in Rafinha’s case, injured and out for the next six months. 

Barca’s first-choice midfield of Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets are all fit but with Rafinha injured there is little cover there.

Javier Mascherano and Sergi Roberto can play in midfield but the latter has been outstanding as a right back in recent weeks and the former’s first position is now very much as a central defender.

It’s a crisis, and as well as being Barca’s fault it also feels like FIFA's. At least that is the way the club see it. MailOnline Sport asked Luis Enrique at the weekend if it hurt even more that the governing body responsible for imposing a transfer ban on Barcelona were themselves being investigated for corruption.

Enrique shrugged his shoulders and said that it hurt just the same, and that Barca had been treated this way for some time and had to get on with it.

Barcelona star Andres Iniesta (centre) could play further forward but is needed in midfield

Likewise, Javier Mascherano could also fill in at midfield but has established himself as a defender

The European champions' forward line will have to be supplemented by youngsters like Sandro (left)

The club still feels that the rules are wrong and that they have done no harm to football by bringing underage players into their Masia, giving them a rounded education and the chance of a bright football future.

FIFA remain unmoved by their latest appeals to lift the ban in view of their injury crisis and the loophole in national rules that would otherwise allow them to sign a new player to make up for the players ruled out.

There is little they can do but get on with it. They also feel it more than a coincidence that the league have made the first half of their season more difficult with away trips to all the top teams in the first three months of the campaign. At least for that first Clasico in November, their talisman should be back.

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