Barcelona manager Luis Enrique is hopeful Andres Iniesta will be sidelined for weeks rather than months after suffering ligament damage in his right knee.
Iniesta was stretchered from the field in tears just 14 minutes into Barca's thrilling 3-2 win at Valencia on Saturday.
“Andres Iniesta has injured the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee,” Barcelona said in a statement.
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“When he arrives in Barcelona the player will have more tests to find out the exact extent of the injury.”
Enrique was incensed on the Barca bench when Valencia’s Argentine midfielder Enzo Perez escaped without even a yellow card for the challenge that caused the injury.
“We saw very clearly from the tackle it was an injury, and a serious one,” said Enrique.
“We will see tomorrow, but it will be weeks. There wasn’t even a yellow card.”.
Barca's season has been plagued by injuries so far as Lionel Messi has just returned from nearly a month out, whilst Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba were injured in Wednesday's 4-0 win over Manchester City.
Messi has returned in fine form, though, as his sixth goal in three games since his comeback deep into stoppage time from the penalty spot moved Barca to the top of La Liga.
*Agence France-Presse
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
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Azerbaijan 0
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