Messi injury hampers Barcelona's preparations for La Liga return

Lionel Messi is carrying an injury just eight days before La Liga is set to resume, Barcelona revealed on Friday.

For the second consecutive day Messi did not train with his teammates; instead remaining in the gym of the club’s Joan Gamper training ground.

“The captain has a small muscle contraction in the quadriceps of his right leg,” Barcelona reported.

The club are desperate to avoid their most important player risking not being available for the restart of the season.

11 games left to play

Barcelona have a two-point lead over Real Madrid with 11 games left to play. They travel to play Mallorca on June 13 for their first match back.

Several La Liga clubs have expressed concern over an increase in injuries after almost two months without normal training because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Marca reported Monday that 28 players, spread between 14 clubs, had reported injuries since training was resumed three weeks ago.