Lionel Messi spoke for the first time earlier today at a publicity event for Turkish Airlines just hours after the knee injury he picked up in the match against Benfica on Wednesday evening at the Nou Camp. The star wanted to send a message of reassurance to the Barca fans.
“I feel good, luckily it was just a knock”, he said.
Nevertheless, the Argentine revealed that he feared for the worst at first: “When I was on the stretcher I couldn’t help but think of the worst, the pain I was going through and how long I would be off the pitch without playing.”
I ended up kicking the ball away because I thought it was the last ball I was going to be kicking for a long time, “ he added.
Messi, who worked out this morning at the gym and will not be training until Saturday, is not ruling out playing in Sunday’s game at Villamarín against Real Betis: “I do not know if I’ll be playing on Sunday, it depends on how everything goes,” said Messi.
Messi didn’t think that his absence would be essential for the future of the club in this season’s League: “The team is the same with or without me. There are plenty of players.”
He didn’t regret having played against Benfica either: “I still think I could have picked up the injury in training or in any other match. Whenever you come onto the pitch, there’s a risk of injury.”
The Argentine superstar wanted to thank in person the many tokens of affection he has received: “I am very grateful for the expressions of love and appreciation from everyone. Experiencing this love makes me very happy.”
Messi also had time to speak of Gerd Müller’s famous goal record of 85 in a calendar year: “Müller’s record is not an obsession for me. Except that it would be nice to break because it has stood for many years.”
Whatever happens next, coach Tito Vilanova will no doubt take it easy with Messi and not push him into the game against Betis. Leo will play if he’s 100% fit and gets the nod from the coach.
Video of Messi’s injury against Benfica
am happy for messi, and i want him to play barca next match.
and i want to tel my frend john.com dat messi wil be back or should say is messi back again. Sanches from bayan dotsa narayi kaduna