Report: Barcelona will be without Lionel Messi for El Clasico

The planet will come to a 90-minute standstill on Nov. 21 when Barcelona and Real Madrid recharge their eternal rivalry in another edition of El Clasico, but the fixture will reportedly be lacking the one player that destroys Ray Hudson of beIN Sports' vocal chords.

According to ESPN FC, Lionel Messi will miss El Clasico because therapy on his injured left knee has not progressed quickly enough. The report echoes a story from Sport, who announced that "his recovery was running late," and also alleges that, short of a miracle, he will not take the pitch until the first week of December.

Messi tore the internal collateral ligament of his left knee only minutes into Barcelona's La Liga match versus Las Palmas at the end of September. It was subsequently announced that the Argentinian phenom would be out for around seven to eight weeks, and Nov. 21 will mark exactly eight weeks since he triggered a collective gasp from every human being in Catalonia.

In an exclusive interview with Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, Messi declared that he was setting no specific targets regarding his return date, saying, "When they tell me that I have recovered completely will be the time that I will make my return onto the pitch." He is apparently working under the supervision of two trainers of Argentina's national team.

Assuming Messi is indeed not ready for El Clasico, then he will also miss both of Argentina's World Cup qualifiers in November, including its crucial game versus Brazil at El Monumental on Nov. 12. Without Leo, La Albiceleste lost its first two qualifiers and failed to tally a single goal, putting itself at early risk of missing out on Russia 2018.