Lionel Messi has been ruled out of Barcelona's Uefa Champions League trip to Celtic after suffering a thigh injury in Saturday night's 2-0 win over Almeria.
Messi scored his 11th goal of the campaign before being forced off after 28 minutes and scans on Sunday confirmed he would miss "two to three weeks".
The forward is therefore set to miss the trip to Glasgow – where Barca were beaten last season – and adds to the Catalan club's injury problems ahead of the game.
"Leo Messi has a small injury to the biceps femoris [thigh] in his right leg," a Barcelona statement read.
"This was confirmed by medical tests undertaken by the player on Sunday morning at Medical Services Sport City.
"The Argentinian will be out for approximately two to three weeks, which will certainly force him to miss Barcelona's two games this week - on Tuesday against Celtic and next Saturday at the Camp Nou against Valladolid."
Barcelona are already set to be without a large chunk of their defence for the midweek trip to Scotland due to injury.
Javier Mascherano, who has been in good form this season, was ruled out in midweek with a hamstring problem to join Jordi Alba, who is suffering the same injury.
Veteran centre-back Carles Puyol is still recovering from his long-term injury problems.
The news will be welcomed by Neil Lennon's Celtic, who sprang one of the surprises of last season's Champions League group stage when Tony Watt's late winner inflicted a rare defeat on a Barca side that did include Messi that night.
Messi's injury overshadowed Barcelona's 2-0 win over Almeria which ensured a club-record seventh straight win to begin the Primera Division campaign.
Barca have never before strung together that many wins at the start of a season since the Primera Liga began in 1928, although they remain level with Atletico Madrid at the top of the standings after Diego Simeone's side beat city rivals Real 1-0.
Barcelona expect to have the majority of their injured contingent back after the international break.
sports@thenational.ae
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
'Nightmare Alley'
Director:Guillermo del Toro
Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
The%20Killer
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England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
