Iniesta out vs. Milan

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BARCELONA, Spain -- Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta was ruled out of the Champions League match at AC Milan with a leg injury on Tuesday.

The Spanish champions said Iniesta will miss Wednesday's Group H contest with a bruised left thigh and will not travel to the San Siro as a precaution.

"He's a very important player for us, he keeps our opponents off-balance," midfielder Sergio Busquets said on Tuesday. "But it's not a worrying injury."

Iniesta, who picked up the injury in Saturday's 4-0 win over Zaragoza, could return for Barcelona's league match at Getafe on Saturday.

Barcelona, which is unbeaten through 20 matches this season, is also without fullback Adriano and the suspended Daniel Alves for a match that will likely decide who tops Group H. Both clubs have already clinched a place in the knockout stage.

Isaac Cuenca remains in the team as a result, while fellow reserve-team players Jonathan Dos Santos and Oier Olazabal also earned places ahead of the match that will see striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic face his former team for the first time since his acronymous departure in 2010.

"I won't get into that," Busquets said. "We're playing against Milan, not just Ibra. We're focusing only on the game, not him."

Ibrahimovic missed the first match between the clubs, when Milan drew 2-2 at the Camp Nou.

The Sweden striker joined Barcelona from Inter Milan in a $66 million transfer that saw Samuel Eto'o join the Italian club as part of the deal.