Barcelona feared for the worst during their clash with Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, despite cruising to an easy 6-0 victory, as superstar Lionel Messi was withdrawn at half-time due to an injury.
At half time Arda Turan came on for Leo Messi #FCBLive #FCBAthletic
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 17, 2016
Arda Turan comes on for Messi. Hope Messi is fine..
— Leo Messi (@messi10stats) January 17, 2016
The Argentine forward, having showcased his record fifth Ballon d’Or award in front of the Camp Nou crowd, opened the goalscoring fest from a penalty, but was unable to complete the game due to fitness issues.
This setback could not have come at a worse time, as the Blaugrana face a run of important fixtures, with their two-legged Copa del Rey quarter final clash with Athletic Bilbao around the corner, including two tricky Liga BBVA ties against Malaga on the 23rd and Atletico on the 30th.
Fortunately, having run test and scans to further determine the extent of La Pulga’s feared injury, the Catalan giants revealed positive news on Monday morning.
As written on the club’s official website, Leo did not suffer a hamstring injury, but took “a bit of a knock” in the weekend fixture.
This will come as great news, given that the last time Messi fell to injury, he spent 7-8 weeks on the sidelines.
No return date has been set for the 28-year-old, however.
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