Barcelona playmaker Lionel Messi will miss at least the next two games due to the ankle injury he sustained against Atletico Madrid last night, the Catalan giants have confirmed.

The 23-year-old was stretchered off following a late challenge by Tomas Ujfalusi in the 2-1 win at the Vicente Calderon, an incident for which the defender was sent off.

Initial tests last night revealed Messi had sustained ankle ligament damage but no break, and that was today confirmed after the Argentina international underwent an MRI scan at the Hospital de Barcelona.

According to Barça's official website, Messi will miss this week's matches against Sporting Gijon on Wednesday and Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, and it will then depend on how his injury improves as to when he will be available to coach Pep Guardiola.

Barcelona play Rubin Kazan in the UEFA Champions League on 29 September.