Champions Barcelona will begin their defending campaign against Athletic Bilbao without Lionel messi in La Liga on Friday at San Mamés Stadium (21:00 CLT).
The Blaugrana finished the 2018-19 La Liga season in the first position with 87 points, while Bilbao ranked eighth with 53 points.
Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde said on Sunday, August 11 that Lionel Messi would not be among his side’s squad for their opening game in the Spanish league.
The Argentina captain suffered on Monday, August 5 a right calf injury during the Barca training session. The Spanish club released a statement confirming his injury later that day.
“First team player Lionel Messi, who had returned from his summer break for training on Monday, withdrew from the session due to discomfort in his right leg,” the statement read.
“Messi will remain in Barcelona and will now not travel to the USA for the club’s tour. His availability to come back to action will be dictated by his recovery from the injury,” it added.
Barca squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Marc-André ter Stegen, Iñaki Peña
Defenders: Nélson Semedo, Gerard Piqué, Clément Lenglet, Jordi Alba, Samuel Umtiti, Junior Firpo
Midfielders: Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Philippe Coutinho, Rafinha, Carles Aleñá, Sergi Roberto, Frenkie De Jong
Forwards: Luis Suárez, Ousmane Dembélé, Antoine Griezmann, Carles Pérez
Follow the latest news on Google News
