Iniesta sidelined by calf strain

Barcelona: Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta will miss Tuesday’s Champions League meeting with Sporting Lisbon, the Catalan giants confirmed on Sunday.

Iniesta asked to be replaced early in the second-half of Barca’s 2-2 draw at home to Celta Vigo on Saturday, but he could return as early as next weekend for a testing La Liga visit to Villarreal. “Tests have confirmed that Andres Iniesta has a strain in the calf of his left leg. The player will be out for the next game,” Barcelona said in a statement. Iniesta is unlikely to be the only Barca star left out for the visit of the Portuguese side with Ernesto Valverde’s men already guaranteed top spot in Group D with a game to spare.