Barca loses playmaking magic of Iniesta to serious leg injury

BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona is facing up to two months without the midfield magic of captain Andres Iniesta after he suffered a serious leg injury on Saturday.

Barcelona said Iniesta injured a ligament in his right knee when he was tackled early in the 3-2 win at Valencia.

Barcelona issued a medical report saying he would be out six to eight weeks to recover from the damage to his knee.

Among other matches, Iniesta will miss Barcelona’s Champions League match Nov. 1 at Manchester City, Spain’s World Cup qualifier Nov. 12 against Macedonia and probably Barcelona’s first clasico of the season Dec. 3 against Real Madrid.

Iniesta grabbed his knee and called for medical assistance after he was tackled by Valencia’s Enzo Perez in the 12th minute.

The Spanish midfielder’s knee appeared to buckle during the aggressive tackle. Iniesta was in obvious pain while he was put on the stretcher and carried off.

Luis Enrique was furious that Perez wasn’t booked for the tackle.

“It was a clear action in which we saw a player injured and yet there was no yellow card,” he said. “It’s a serious injury.”

Ivan Rakitic replaced Iniesta. Barcelona won the match after Lionel Messi scored his second of two goals with a stoppage-time penalty.

The 32-year-old Iniesta is Barcelona’s best playmaker, blessed with superb vision, passing and dribbling skills.

He has helped the club win 25 titles, including four Champions League and eight Spanish league titles.

Iniesta is also a key player for Spain, which is seeking qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

AC MILAN UPENDS JUVE

Teenage midfielder Manuel Locatelli scored a spectacular second-half goal as AC Milan marked a return to prominence with a 1-0 win over visiting Juventus in Serie A in Italy on Saturday.

Locatelli’s powerful, rising shot from the right edge of the area bounced in off the underside of the crossbar and stranded Gianluigi Buffon.

Locatelli, who is already being compared to Andrea Pirlo, has produced two shots on target in his short Serie A career and both have been goals. He has been given added responsibility since Milan captain Riccardo Montolivo went down with a long-term injury