Barcelona given key injury scare after nasty collision during win over Man Utd

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Barcelona came away with a 1-0 win against Man Utd in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie, but it also saw Lionel Messi pick up a nasty facial injury.

The incident occurred in the first half as Messi collided with Chris Smalling and was left with a bloody face after a knock to his nose as well as a cut over his eye.

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It led to the 31-year-old having a generally quiet game, although he was key early on in setting up the only goal of the game with Luis Suarez heading his cross off Luke Shaw and into the back of the net.

However, Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde has now conceded that the injury concern will require further tests to determine the full extent of the problem.

“Messi wasn’t so comfortable after the blow,” Valverde is quoted as saying by Marca. “We have to examine him tomorrow to see how he is.

“He was strong, but he has quite a significant bruise.”

Messi has been in stunning form again this season, scoring 43 goals and providing 21 assists in just 41 appearances across all competitions.

With that in mind, the last thing that the Catalan giants need is to be without him for the second leg against United at the Nou Camp next Tuesday night, and so they’ll hope the tests reveal that there isn’t any significant damage.

Barcelona face bottom-of-the-table Huesca on Saturday in La Liga, while they boast an 11-point lead over nearest rivals Atletico Madrid with just seven games to go.

In turn, it’s more than likely that Messi will be rested regardless, but ultimately it will be an anxious wait for all concerned to determine if he can return in time to face the Red Devils.

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