Leo Messi: "I won't play against Valencia but I could be back for Dortmund"
Messi tells SPORT that he won't play this weekend and is a doubt for the midweek trip to Germany
It's been a strange start to the season for Lionel Messi at FC Barcelona. The Argentine star didn't feature in any preseason matches and picked up an injury in his first session back.
In an exclusive interview with SPORT, Messi confirms he won't be playing against Valencia this weekend.
"I'm still training on my own," Leo explained. "I don't have a fixed return date yet. I'm doing tests and when I'm 100% recovered, I'll be ready to play. I won't play against Valencia but we'll see if I return against Dortmund or Granada."
The amount of time Messi has spent on the sidelines is frustrating the Barça captain. "It was really bad because this happened in my first training session. It was a minor injury and I was expected to miss just fifteen days but when I returned to training ahead of the Betis game, I felt more discomfort."
"A TRICKY INJURY TO OVERCOME"
"This meant I had to spend more time out and there's still time to go. They told me a calf injury is complicated and when you think it's fine, it can trick you. This has never happened to me before and now I know what it is. Now I'm relaxed and I'm only going to play when I feel ready. I don't want any setbacks as I would spend more time on the sidelines."
