Messi will miss Barca's La Liga matches at home to Sporting
Gijon on Wednesday and at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday after he was felled by a
late tackle from Atletico Madrid defender Tomas Ujfalusi at the weekend and
sustained ankle ligament damage.
The World Player of the Year, who scored the opening goal in
Barca's 2-1 win at the Calderon, is also doubtful for the Champions League
match at Rubin Kazan on Sept. 29.
"He (Messi) has some very special talents,"
Guardiola told a news conference. "He is almost irreplaceable but we'll
move on and fortunately he's out for only a short time."
Guardiola said Messi could return in two or three weeks but
Barca would not rush him back into action.
"I don't know if he'll make the Rubin Kazan game. He'll
rest until he is well," the former Barca and Spain midfielder said.
Ujfalusi, who was shown a straight red card for the
challenge in added time, has apologized for the tackle and said he did not mean
to cause injury.
"I am not a hard player," he told a news
conference on Monday. "I go in hard but always going for the ball and I
give my all in every game.
"There are harder tackles than the one on Messi. The
problem is that I did mine on Leo Messi."
The former Fiorentina player was given backing on Tuesday by
England's Italian manager Fabio Capello, who was in Madrid attending a UEFA
conference.
"I know Ujfalusi very well and he's an honest
player," Capello told reporters.
"I hope Messi returns very quickly because he's the
kind of player it's always worth watching on the pitch."
