Messi given OK for Barcelona return

Barcelona havs been given a major boost as Lionel Messi was given the green light to play again and returns to Frank Rijkaard's squad for the game against Recreativo this weekend.

The Argentinian forward has been our of action since pulling up with an injury in the Champions League encounter with Celtic early last month in Camp Nou and he has been sorely missed.

A small tear in his thigh muscle meant that he was forced out for six weeks and traveled back to his native Argentina for the first section of his recovery program.

Since returning to Barcelona, however, Messi's fitness has returned and he began to train with the squad in the final session before the Champions League encounter against Schalke 04 in midweek. Despite appearing to be fit then, Rijkaard opted to leave him out to give the young star a few more days to prepare for his comeback.

Barcelona travels to Huelva to take on Recreativo and Messi has been included, but there are still some late doubts that the Dutch coach will to consider. Following the midweek victory over Schalke, Thierry Henry, Bojan Krkic and Andrés Iniesta have all reported strains and will have to undergo late fitness tests to see if they can play against the Andalucian side in the Nuevo Colombino.