The manager has no concerns about his Argentine captain ahead of La Liga’s return
Quique Setien insisted Lionel Messi is “perfectly fine” as the Barcelona head coach addressed the superstar’s physical condition.
Messi has trained separately after Barca confirmed their captain suffered a quadriceps injury ahead of La Liga‘s resumption on June 11 following a delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.
League-leaders Barca currently sit two points clear of bitter rivals Real Madrid with 11 matches remaining and will restart their 2019-20 campaign against Real Mallorca on June 13.
After that, they’ll face a short turnaround before a match against Leganes three days later before a slight break ahead of a match against Sevilla on June 21.
Despite the congested schedule, Barca boss Setien has no concerns about six-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi ahead of that initial trip to Mallorca.
“It’s not just Messi – other players haven’t trained because they’ve had niggles,” Setien told Movistar. “It’s happened to lots of them.
“Leo has a cramp that’s not hugely significant. I think he’s perfectly fine and he won’t have any problems.
“It’s the same for any other player. We’ll see how the league goes and what circumstances come up.
“We have lots of games and a small squad. I always want to have Messi on the pitch, of course.”
Messi is atop La Liga’s goalscoring charts with 19, ahead of Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema, who had netted 14 goals of his own at the moment the league was suspended in March due to Covid-19.
While Messi’s fitness is a focus for Barcelona, the club will also be boosted by the return of Luis Suarez after the Uruguayan star’s extended injury absence.
The club confirmed over the weekend that Suarez will be fit to take part in next weekend’s clash with Mallorca, as he’ll return to the Barca squad for the first time since January.
Suarez has been out of action for the last five months after undergoing surgery for a knee injury that had been expected to end his season.
However, with the season prolonged due to the coronavirus, the Uruguayan star will be ready for the final matches of the campaign as Barca pursue La Liga’s title once again
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