Lionel Messi: FC Barcelona confirm injury, striker to miss matches

La Liga giants, FC Barcelona issued an official statement that Lionel Messi injured a skeletal muscle in his left thigh during the team's 2-1 win against Villarreal in a league meeting on September 25. With the news of his injury made public, the Argentine striker will be out for a couple of games without a definite timeline for his recovery period. 

A stressed left adductor

Lionel was initially was out with a calf problem but returned to play against Villarreal to mark his first start after the injury suffered in the pre-season. The striker played in the first half of the match, setting up a goal for Antoine Griezmann to score the first goal of the match but stressed his adductor in his left thigh after playing for 30 minutes. Later on, Messi was tended to by the team doctors for a few minutes before coming back on and playing the entire first half.

According to reports, Lionel Messi will apparently miss his club's matches such as the league match against Getafe on September 28 and a champions league encounter against Inter Milan on October 2 before heading off to play a match against Sevilla on September 6.

Read: LaLiga: Barcelona Earn Hard-fought 2-1 Home Win Against Villarreal

Barcelona hopes to have Messi back on the field as soon as possible after enduring a shaky start to their domestic season, collecting a mere 7 out a total of 18 points. In the events that preceded his current injury, Messi came on to play against German club, Borussia Dortmund and against Granada in a La Liga meeting. 

Read: UEFA Champions League: Borussia Dortmund Vs Barcelona Ends In Draw

Fifa player of the year

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi won the Fifa player of the year award on September 23 for a record 6th time, beating the likes of Juventus forward, Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool defender, Van Dijk.

Lionel's record win reignited the debate of who was the better player between him and Cristiano Ronaldo since the award has been shared between the two since the time it was created other than the year 2007 in which the prestigious award was won by Brazilian midfielder Kaka.

Read: Messi Vs Ronaldo: What Stats Say About The Star Players' Performances

Read: Carabao Cup 2019/20: Manchester United Survive Rochdale Scare

(With inputs from ANI)