Lionel Messi has been ruled out of Barcelona's Champions League showdown against Manchester United.
According to thesportsrush. com, the Argentine superstar, who doubles as Barcelona captain suffered a huge setback after cropping an injury in Monday's training session after their win over Espanyol in the league's Catalan derby.
Interestingly, this development will come as a massive boost for Manchester United, who battled their own injury crisis ahead of their last-16 clash against PSG.
10 first-team stars missed the second leg of the tie, but Solskjaer's men pulled an emphatic comeback to beat the French side 3-1 at the Parc des Princes.
At the last count, Messi was injured during Argentina's international friendly against Venezuela and was ruled out of Morocco tie.
However, the playmaker was back in action against Espanyol at the weekend, where he netted a fantastic panenka free-kick.
Messi aggravated the injury during Monday's session and is expected to go through rehabilitation.
Reacting on the injury setback, Barca's conditioning coach Edu Pons revealed that the injury will likely keep Messi out for two weeks, even as he stressed the Argentine could also miss the reverse leg at Old Trafford.
"He'll definitely miss the first leg. Messi has aggravated the pubic bone injury, and we believe that the area has been put under excessive strain," the coach said.
Meanwhile, club boss Ernesto Valverde insists other squad members must unite together and fight as a group, even as he rued Messi's injury.
"It's obviously a big blow. Messi is the best player in the world, but we have to regroup and put it behind us," Valverde said.
"The things Messi brings to the game are unmatchable, we all know it. It's better for him to rest and come back stronger," he summed up.
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