How Will Lionel Messi's Injury Impact Barcelona's Chances Of Repeating As Champions? [VIDEO]

If you're a fan of soccer, regardless of what club your allegiance lies, yesterday was a terrible day.

Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest player on the planet suffered an excruciating knee and ligament injury, placing him out of Barcelona's lineup for the next eight weeks.

The next question is how will Messi's absence affect FC Barcelona's chances of repeating as treble champions?

Back-to-back trebles was unlikely from the start, but a repeat of La Liga champions was certainly in the cards for the Catalan Kings, as was defending their UEFA Champions League title.

With Messi expected to be out until the end of November, Barca head coach Luis Enrique will need to find a way to make up for his production on the pitch.

Insert Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez and Brazilian poster boy Neymar. Both players are some of the top scorers in the world, and will relish a chance to take over in Messi's stead.

Thankfully, Messi's injury occurred early in the season. Even if he were to be out for the remainder of 2015, there would still be enough time upon his return to still win both the Spanish league and Champions League titles.

Messi's absence will be most felt in Champions League, where Barca is set to take on Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday. Even a loss to Chicharito's new team, would still not be the end of Barcelona as they are still expected to make it out of the group.

After that, Barcelona has a fairly easy schedule in league play, with soccer fans circling the November 22 match against Real Madrid as a possible return to the pitch for Messi.

With Messi off the field, teams will mark Neymar and Suarez knowing that these are the only two stars woul can beat them. Expect many teams to park the bus as they don't have to worry about the Maestro picking them apart and finding open teammates.

Summer transfer, Arda Turan, will need to step up in Messi's absence and could find more scoring opportunities. With or without Messi, Barcelona is still one of the best and most talented teams in the world. We expect them to be just fine.