Barcelona’s injury crisis has grown deeper with the news that Andres Iniesta is set for a month on the sidelines with a hamstring strain.

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The Nou Camp captain suffered the blow during his team’s hardfought Champions League victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday, pulling up sharply and holding his right thigh after attempting to burst through the visiting defence.

He immediately knew the severity of the problem, signalling to the bench for a substitution, and made his frustration visible by angrily punching a seat as he made his way into the dug-out.

Although the club have not officially confirmed the extent of the damage, Iniesta is unlikely to play until the end of October at the earliest, ruling him out of league meetings with Sevilla, Rayo Vallecano, Eibar and Getafe, along with a Champions League trip to BATE Borisov.

He will also be absent for the final games of Spain’s European Championship qualifying campaign, with La Roja needing two points from their meetings with Ukraine and Luxembourg to secure a place in next summer’s finals.

Iniesta has attempted to look on the bright side, saying on social media: “Even though it’s not always easy to understand, sometimes you need time out to come back stronger.”

Spain should comfortably cope with the veteran playmaker’s absence but it is a big blow to Barca, especially with Lionel Messi and fellow midfielder Rafinha already injured. And manager Luis Enrique admitted: “The injury to Iniesta is terrible news. I don’t know why we have so many injuries at the moment.

“But these are thorns in our side that we have to shake off. We’ll show everyone that we can overcome this.”

Enrique was also frustrated that his team were whistled by sections of the Nou Camp crowd during Tuesday’s meeting with Leverkusen.

In their first game since Messi’s injury, the reigning European champions struggled for much of the encounter and some home fans voiced their disapproval shortly after the visitors moved into a first-half lead.

The flat atmosphere persisted until two goals in the space of two minutes sealed a thrilling comeback, with Sergi Roberto and Luis Suarez getting on the scoresheet to secure three important points.

And Enrique urged the team’s supporters to give the team greater levels of backing in the future, saying: “We needed their support when things weren’t going our way

“You can hear the whistling very clearly from the pitch and this team doesn’t deserve that. It deserves more faith and unshakeable support.”

Enrique also hailed his team’s character as they battled to get back into the game, and believes the effort they were putting into the encounter, even though they were struggling for fluency, should have been appreciated by the crowd.

“If we don’t run, it’s ok to criticise. But the team was trying its heart out,” he argued. “The belief and the support should be there from the fans.”

The player set to benefit from Iniesta’s absence is Roberto, who is likely to claim a place in the starting eleven as part of the team’s strongest available midfield trio alongside Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic.

The 23 year-old youth team product has been little more than a bit part player during his Barca career until now, rarely doing much to suggest that he can become a first team regular. But he has excelled in recent weeks.