6th December, 2012
The knee injury suffered by Lionel Messi in their Champions League match against Benfica last night has been a source of worry to Barcelona.
The Argentine star was stretchered off as Barca drew 0-0 with Benfica at the Camp Nou, a result which saw Celtic go through at the expense of the Portuguese side from UEFA Champions League Group G.
The club later confirmed the injury was only bruising to the left knee, but added that Messi “is still awaiting more tests to determine the extent of the injury”.
Messi was brought on as a second-half substitute but went down clutching his knee late on in the game.
The Catalan side cruised through the group stage with just one defeat, away to Celtic, in what has been a prolific start to the season where domestically they have established a new record of 13 wins from 14 games.
Fans turned up hoping to see Messi match or better Gerd Mueller’s record of 85 goals in a calendar year but in the end the night finished on a sour note with the Argentine still a goal behind.
“It doesn’t appear too serious as it is a knock to his knee but he will have more tests now to find out exactly what the situation is,” said Coach Tito Vilanova. “He is calm although a little worried as you would expect for a player with an injury who is waiting to know how serious it is.”