Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde says Lionel Messi has not suffered a setback with his injury but they were not willing to risk him against Real Betis. The 32-year-old was missing as Barca wrapped up a 5-2 win over Betis in La Liga, which sparked fears he may have suffered a relapse with his calf injury.
However, Valverde says that is not the case and he was just left out as a precaution. “There wasn’t a positive feeling. He hasn’t had a relapse of the injury,” Valverde confirmed. “We already said that we wouldn’t rush any player; what we wanted to avoid was a relapse.”
Valverde did not go on to confirm when Messi will be back but he it looks as though he will not be rushing him back.
Thankfully for the Catalan giants Messi was not missed as they picked up their first three points of the campaign in emphatic fashion thanks to a brace from new boy Antoine Griezmann and further goals from Carles Perez, Jordi Alba and Arturo Vidal.
