For those who didnt know: Eto'o facing 3 months on sidelines

[Lance Knight]

Barcelona ace Eto'o facing 3 months on sidelines
September 28, 2006

Barcelona star Samuel Eto'o is facing at least three months on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury in last night's 1-1 draw at Werder Bremen.

Barca doctors say Eto'o is facing a three-month lay-off on initial findings, however a scan at 4:00pm this afternoon will give a clearer assessment to the extent of the damage.

Eto'o was upbeat last night, leaving the stadium on crutches and shouting to journalists: "I'm leaving for Sam Mames to see my Uncle!"

Barca coach Frank Rijkaard said afterwards: "I hope that the injury of Samuel (Etoo) is not too serious. I still do not know what happened to him.

"The point is important, given the circumstances. Last season it was not easy to win here, either. We had to suffer, so in the end we can be satisfied with the draw."

[Lance Knight]

Barcelona chief rules out Eto'o replacement signing
October 02, 2006

Barcelona sports chief Txiki Begiristain has ruled out seeking a new signing to replace injured striker Samuel Eto'o.
"The current squad is competitive enough," said Begiristain, "we are calm about the situation.

"There is Eidur Gudjohnsen, who is a great team player and a natural replacement for Eto'o. Once he adjusts to the pace of the Spanish Liga, he will give us much more. His movement and overall play is excellent."

[Minof]

This couldnt have happened to a nicer guy...
Barca will miss him dearly I think.

[Leon of Silvren]

Yeah they're already missing him....right now if Dinho gets injured, Barca's era will be over FOR SURE.....

Anyway, everybody's saying Gudjohnsen will fill Eto's shoes.....he couldn't even fill Crespo's or Drogba's! Even less Saviola will, his prime already passed, and not even when at it he was such a good player....he was just average. Right now Barca has no striker, and they will feel the loss, either Dinho will leave the ball more often on Deco or Xavi to go upfront, or they will score several fewer goals.....

[Lance Knight]

they should move Deco upfront more, he runs up anyway,
well this is good for us i must say the Classico being 2 games away

[Leon of Silvren]

Yeah, the loss hurts Barca so much because they don't have another player who can replace Eto.....same thing happens with Dinho, or Deco.....or are they expecting Gud or Saviola to perform at the same level as Eto??

[FCB_10]

Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o is recovering from his right knee injury quicker than expected and should be back in training in mid-January. The Barcelona striker wasn't expected to return until February after tearing and displacing the meniscus during a Champions League game at Werder Bremen on 27 September.

"Eto'o is improving faster than predicted. He is a great athlete," Barcelona doctor Ramon Cugat said on Saturday.

However, Cugat also urged caution.

"We shouldn't celebrate too early. The meniscus requires great respect," he added.

The Cameroon international, who hopes to play against Liverpool on 21 February and 6 March in the second round of the Champions League, has missed 19 of the European and Spanish champion's games.

Without him, Barcelona struggled in the Champions League and has dropped to second place behind Sevilla in the Spanish league.

Eto'o, who has been Africa's top player in the last three seasons and was nominated for this year's award, has scored 68 goals for Barcelona since arriving from Mallorca in 2004.

He had 26 last season to be the Spanish league's top scorer.

Barcelona has other injury concerns.

Forward Lionel Messi and defender Lilian Thuram are not expected back until February, while defender Gianluca Zambrotta should be playing again in late January.

I'm very happy that Eto'o will be healthy to play soon. Hopefully Barca can get the mind set that we can win any game. We dropped to second place behind Sevilla in the Spanish league, but I think Barcelona can go back to there "Winning Ways"