Barcelona Name Lionel Messi in Squad for El Clasico Despite Injury Scare

Barcelona have named Lionel Messi in their squad list that will face Real Madrid on Wednesday night in the Copa del Rey semi final 1st leg, despite his injury scare against Valencia over the weekend. 

The Argentine appeared to suffer a thigh injury in a collision just minutes after his wonderfully struck equaliser in the 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp, and received some treatment on the sidelines before gingerly carrying on. 

Naturally, this prompted plenty of panic in the Catalonian city, with fans despairing of his potential absence from Wednesday's crucial clasico. 

However, as confirmed by the club on their official twitter account, Messi will be available for the game, after being named in their 19-man squad for the Copa del Rey tie against their bitter rivals. 

Some of this terror was perhaps magnified because the 31-year-old was sidelined for the most recent fixture between the two sides back in October, although it didn't stop them from winning 5-1 on that occasion, prompting their opponents to sack Julen Lopetegui. 

Needless to say, this Madrid side is very different to the one Barca dispatched so easily last year, while La Blaugrana have appeared increasingly reliant on their talisman in 2019. The number ten has notched a staggering 29 goals in 27 appearances across all competitions this season, providing 17 assists - the most in either category in all of Europe's top five leagues. 

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Affirming this, as quoted by Goal, Ernesto Valverde recently admitted: "The numbers are stratospheric, incredible. Messi is an extraordinary player from another galaxy. And it is not just that he is a goalscorer, it's everything he creates, what he generates around him."

Fortunately for him, and unfortunately for Santiago Solari, it looks like Messi will indeed have a part to play on Wednesday night.