Messi injury not as serious as first feared
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Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a goal against Getafe during their Spanish first division match at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium in Getafe, September 12, 2009. [Xinhua/Reuters File Photo] |
FC Barcelona issued a statement on Sunday with good news about the extent of striker Leo Messi's groin injury.
The Argentinean limped out of Saturday's 1-1 draw away to Athletic Club Bilbao after 75 minutes of the game. He sat in the dugout and applied an icepack to his upper left leg.
In the post match press conference, coach Pep Guardiola admitted he had feared the worst for the striker.
"The first feelings we have about the injury are not that good," he admitted in declarations published on the Barcelona website.
With Barcelona due to entertain Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday and receive title rivals Real Madrid next Sunday, it was initially feared Messi would miss the two most important games of the season to date.
However, the club's medical section says that Messi's injury is not serious and says he could even be fit to play against Inter.
"The player has a grade one injury on his left quadriceps. We will follow the evolution of the injury, but his participation is not ruled out for Tuesday," Barcelona said in the press release.
The same press release also said striker Zlatan Ibrahimovich could recover from his hamstring strain in time to face Inter, while adding that defender Rafael Marquez is not suffering from A/H1N1 flu.
Toure Yaya does, however, have the virus and will not be available until the weekend.
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