Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta set for spell on sidelines with knee injury

Iniesta was carried off on a stretcher just 14 minutes into Saturday's LaLiga victory over Valencia at the Mestalla after being injured by an Enzo Perez tackle.

Barca coach Luis Enrique said in his post-match press conference that Iniesta was likely to be out for a "long time", and it was subsequently confirmed that the 32-year-old midfielder may not play again until next year.

A Barca statement read: "Andres Iniesta has injured the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee. After an initial diagnosis at the Mestalla stadium, the tests taken in Barcelona have revealed the extent of the injury. The midfielder is expected to be out for between six and eight weeks."

The Spain international is now facing a battle to play in any of Barca's 12 competitive matches before the winter break, with their final game of 2016 scheduled for December 21.

If he does sit out all those matches, Iniesta would miss crunch games against Real Madrid, Espanyol and Sevilla in LaLiga, as well as the Champions League fixtures against Manchester City, Celtic and Borussia Monchengladbach.

Barca recovered from the early loss of their long-serving playmaker on Saturday night by recording a 3-2 win over Valencia that sent them to the top of LaLiga, with the leading trio at the start of the day - Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Sevilla - all in action on Sunday.