The groin injury that Lionel Messi, aggravated in the World Cup qualifier against Uruguay could see the Barcelona forward miss their weekend fixture with Deportivo Alaves. The 29-year-old sat out the World Cup qualifier against Venezuela due to the aggravation of injury which has been a persistent problem.
Argentina coach, Edgardo Bauza had confirmed earlier last week that Messi wouldn’t be risked for the match against Venezuela. Messi himself had reassured fans via his Facebook account on Monday that he was fine and would have to slow things down in order to recover, and thanked his fans for all the support.
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Instead, the President insisted that injuries of such nature are bound to happen given the amount of football that the Argentine is involved in. Also, being one of the most feared players means that defenders pay “extra attention” to him and hence the recurrence of such an injury.
Speaking to RAC1, Josep Maria Bartomeu, the club President insisted that, “No one has taken unnecessary risks”, and Barcelona did not recommend the AFA about how and when to play Messi but only stated that the Argentine had discomfort due to the injury, thus clearing the air about any communication gaps between the AFA and Barcelona.
Messi, since then, has returned to Spain and reported to Barcelona’s training. The Barcelona star has had an MRI scan on his injury and while any critical injury has been ruled out, Luis Enrique might still opt to rest him ahead of this weekend’s game. Keeping the hectic fixture list in mind, especially with the UEFA Champion’s league fixture against Celtic coming up, the immediate fixture might be a tad too early in order for the player to play to his fullest ability.
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FC Barcelona also released a statement that said, “Tests conducted today on first team player Leo Messi have confirmed that the discomfort in his left adductor muscle persists. It's advised he lowers the burden of training in the coming days and the evolution of the injury will mark his availability to return to action."
Messi who returned to international football after rescinding his retirement was the scorer of the only goal against Uruguay and has been in scintillating form since the start of this season. In the medical report released by Argentina as well, it was reported that Messi underwent medical treatment for the groin and thigh pain and there was concurrence on the Argentine being given time to recuperate in order to address the injury.
