Messi Rested For Huesca Trip After Bloodied Nose

Lionel Messi will play no part in Barcelona’s LaLiga game away to Huesca on Saturday after being handed a rest by coach Ernesto Valverde.

The Argentine attacker was clattered by Manchester United’s Chris Smalling and left with a bloodied nose in Barca’s 1-0 win at Old Trafford in the Champions League on Wednesday and looked groggy for the rest of the night.

Valverde admitted afterwards that the forward was badly bruised and with the two teams to meet again at Camp Nou in the quarter-final second leg on Tuesday, the 31-year-old will sit out the game against LaLiga’s bottom club.

Asked in his pre-match press conference whether that would be the case, Valverde said: “It’s possible. It’s true that he feels good, but he took a big blow.”

And he added: “He was struggling. He was hit by a trailer and we have to assess it.”

The squad was announced later on Friday and Messi is not included in the 18-man list, with Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez missing through suspension and Sergi Roberto, Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets all out with minor injuries.