
Audio By Carbonatix
Lionel Messi is set to return from a two-month injury layoff after being cleared by Barcelona team doctors and included in the squad for the Copa del Rey match against Getafe on Wednesday.
Messi hasn’t played since tearing his left hamstring on Nov. 10, his fourth leg injury last year. He returned to training with Barcelona last week after recovering in Argentina.
Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said Tuesday that Messi “feels fine” but didn’t reveal if the club’s all-time leading scorer will start or stay on the bench.
“Messi rehabbed well and has trained like the rest of the team,” Martino said. “Maybe he lacks some playing time, but with Leo I don’t think that will be a problem.
“Messi gives us all a boost of confidence. With him at our side, we all feel more secure.”
Martino said that if Messi plays he hopes he can repeat his remarkable goal against Getafe in 2007, when he dribbled from his own half, slaloming by a series of defenders, to net arguably his greatest goal.
Barcelona lost its only two games of the season without Messi, but it has managed to hold onto a share of the Spanish league lead with Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona hosts Getafe in the first leg of the round of 16 before travelling to Atletico on Saturday in one of the most highly anticipated league matches of the season.
In Messi’s absence, Pedro Rodriguez, Neymar and, most recently, Alexis Sanchez have picked up the scoring slack. Pedro leads the team with 15 goals in all competitions this season, one more than Messi.
Martino left Xavi Hernandez, Dani Alves and Marc Bartra off his squad for the Getafe match. He also confirmed that backup goalkeeper Jose Pinto will continue to start in the Copa del Rey, as he had under prior coaches Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova.
Latest Stories
-
‘It doesn’t add up’ – Minority questions PURC’s tariff increase
37 minutes -
High Court affirms ICAG’s sole authority to regulate accountancy profession
1 hour -
A restored banking license difficult to resume operation; once collapsed ends its story
2 hours -
Kojo Mensa-Wilmot – a Molecular Biologist and Parasitologist
2 hours -
THE LAW 101: The burden of proof and the presumption of innocence – Lessons from London
2 hours -
UN says it will evacuate sailors stranded in Strait of Hormuz, as Rubio warns against tolls
2 hours -
Police arrest 186 suspects in major crackdown on human trafficking, organised crime in Ashanti Region
2 hours -
The Inconvenient Truth: Nations do not industrialise by accident—they industrialise by procurement design
2 hours -
Nandom Community Bank records GH₵81.8m asset growth as stakeholders rally for urgent recapitalisation
2 hours -
GIZ, Guinness Ghana sign MoU to boost sorghum output, target 30,000 farmers, 150 jobs in northern Ghana
2 hours -
Partey, Inaki Williams start as Queiroz makes four changes for England clash
3 hours -
LUV FACT-CHECK: NPP did not demand retraction from Kennedy Agyapong over Afari Hospital criticism
3 hours -
80 children, 1 room: Bugbelle gets room for hope
3 hours -
VRA warns public over recruitment scam, says it does not charge fees
3 hours -
Accra dons national colours as fans rally behind Black Stars ahead of England clash
3 hours