UCL: Lionel Messi in Barcelona squad for Inter Milan match, not yet cleared to play

Image Credits: Reuters

Lionel Messi was on Sunday included in Barcelona`s squad for Tuesday`s Champions League game away to Inter Milan, little more than two weeks after breaking his arm.

The Argentinian was a surprise inclusion, although his name on the squad list was marked with an asterisk saying "the player travels without the medical all-clear".

Squad list for #InterBarça
Leo #Messi travels to Milan without medical all-clear
#ForçaBarça pic.twitter.com/zQcTK3x2Qf — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 4, 2018

Barcelona`s captain and all-time top scorer was initially ruled out for approximately three weeks after sustaining the injury against Sevilla on Oct. 20, although he returned to training last week.

Coach Ernesto Valverde said on Friday that he did not rule Lionel Messi out of playing against Inter, but said he was concerned about rushing the player back, especially as his side are on a winning run without their usual talisman.

Barcelona beat Sevilla 4-2 after Lionel Messi went off injured midway through the first half, convincingly defeated Inter 2-0 at home and thrashed Real Madrid 5-1.

They beat Rayo Vallecano 3-2 on Saturday on the back of an excellent performance by Luis Suarez after earning a 1-0 win at Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey recently.