Lionel Messi is likely to miss Sunday’s tie with Osasuna in a bid to be fully fit for next week’s El Clasico tie with Real Madrid.

messiMessi scored during Barcelona’s Copa del Rey win over Malaga on Thursday but asked to be substituted two minutes later due to discomfort in his thigh.

Assistant head coach Jordi Roura said on the club’s official website: “We brought Messi off the as a preventative measure. The abductors in his right leg was giving him problems. It’s nothing serious.”

Messi did not train on Friday with the first team and instead spent the morning with physiotherapists and is now likely to miss Sunday’s game, meaning Alexis Sanchez or David Villa could in line to start the game.

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