Messi Misses Practice, Reportedly an Injury Doubt for Barcelona's First Game Back

A reported muscle injury suffered in training caused Lionel Messi to miss a practice, though Barcelona has been coy on the subject.

MADRID (AP) — Lionel Messi has a minor muscle injury and is training separately as a precaution ahead of the restart of the Spanish league next week, Barcelona said Friday.

The club said Messi has a right thigh ailment and is “doing specific exercises to avoid unnecessary risks with just eight days” before the team resumes its title defense. Barcelona said Messi “should be able to rejoin his teammates in a few days’ time.”

Barcelona visits Mallorca on June 13 in its first match since the league was suspended nearly three months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Messi had already trained separately on Wednesday. He and the rest of the squad had a rest day on Thursday. Barcelona said Saturday’s training session will take place at the Camp Nou instead of the team’s training center.

Messi missed nearly two months at the beginning of the season after hurting a calf muscle in the first preseason training. He is the league leading scorer with 19 goals, five more than Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema. Messi also has the most assists, with 12.

Barcelona said forward Ansu Fati also trained individually on Friday, though it did not say why.

Defender Clément Lenglet is set to miss the trip to Mallorca because of an accumulation of yellow cards. But striker Luis Suárez, who underwent right knee surgery in January and was expected to miss the rest of the season before the pandemic struck, has been practicing normally and is expected to be back in action in Mallorca.

Ousmane Dembelé is not likely to return as he continues to recover from a serious hamstring problem.

Barcelona has a two-point lead over Real Madrid with 11 rounds remaining.

Madrid resumes on June 14 against Eibar at Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium in the club’s training center as the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium continues to undergo renovation work.

The league’s first game will be the Seville derby between Sevilla and Real Betis on Thursday.