Barcelona host Celtic in the Champions League next week.
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi looks dejected
According to Sky Sports, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is a major doubt for next week’s European encounter with Celtic.
The Argentine superstar suffered a groin injury while on international duty and has returned to Catalonia where he has undergone scans ahead of this weekend’s fixture with Alaves.
Messi was in sublime form upon his return to Argentina duty after performing a U-turn on his decision to retire from international football, scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over Uruguay.
Barcelona’s Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi during the warm up before the match
However, the diminutive playmaker was in the wars throughout and after riding numerous tackles and poor challenges from the Uruguayan defenders, he ultimately ended up in the treatment room.
Celtic qualified for the Champions League after overcoming Hapoel Be’er Sheva 5-4 on aggregate in the qualifying section, and their reward was to be drawn alongside Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach.
The Hoops aren’t expected to qualify from what many deem is the toughest group of the lot, yet boss Brendan Rodgers will have set the standards and will want to put on a decent showing.
New Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers poses after the press conference
Barcelona have begun the season in superb fashion, winning the Spanish Super Cup over Sevilla before claiming back-to-back La Liga victories over Real Betis and Athletic Bilbao.
However, with Neymar having yet to play this season and Messi potentially ruled out, Celtic arguably couldn’t have picked a better time to travel to the Nou Camp in what will be a fascinating tie.
Nou Camp Barcelona
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