Barcelona star striker Lionel Messi will miss this weekend's Primera Liga match and will most likely be sidelined for next week's Champions League match as well. Messi had been injured before joining Argentina on international duty last week but he insisted on playing. He scored the winning goal for Argentina in their World Cup qualifier against Uruguay but ended up aggravating his groin injury. He was supposed to play in Argentina's match against Venezuela on Tuesday but he was sent back to Barcelona for scans.
Barcelona issued a statement on Monday: "Tests conducted today on Leo Messi have confirmed that the player is still having trouble with the left adductor muscle. He has been recommended to lighten his training load over the next few days and his availability will depend on how the issue progresses." Messi didn't seem to worry too much about his injury as he wrote on Facebook: "Everything is fine, I have to slow things down as I recover with physio, but it's nothing to worry about."
Argentina new head coach Edgardo Bauza said Messi disregarded the advice of Barcelona's doctors in order to make his return to the national team. The Argentinian star had announced his retirement from international duty after his nation lost the Copa America final earlier this summer, but the new head coach persuaded him to reverse his decision. Barcelona will play Alaves in the Primera Liga this weekend while next week they open their Champions League campaign with a home match against Celtic in Group C.
Barcelona are 8/13 at Bet365 to win the Primera Liga title this season.
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