It was feared that the Barcelona star had picked up a hamstring injury during Sunday’s 6-0 win over Atheltic Club but the latest tests reveal it was only a knock.Barcelona star Lionel Messi has been cleared of any injury after being forced off at half-time in the Camp Nou outfit’s win over Athletic Club.

Having opened the scoring in Sunday’s 6-0 thrashing of the Basque side, the Argentina international was replaced at the break by Arda Turan after complaining of some pain in his right leg.

It was feared that the Ballon d’Or winner had picked up a hamstring injury and thus faced a few weeks on the sidelines.

However, the club have confirmed that the 28-year-old has merely taken a knock and there is no serious damage or concerns for coach Luis Enrique.

The Barca boss said he will take no unnecessary risks with his key player and it remains unclear if the Catalan side’s talisman will be fit to face Athletic in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final on Wednesday, though.

Messi has scored 19 goals in 23 games in all competitions this term, picking up eight assists, but Barca will be confident of getting the better of the Bilbao side with Luis Suarez and Neymar still available, having scored 38 times between them so far this season.

Goal.com…

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