Barcelona have received a blow with the news that forward Lionel Messi is out of Saturday’s derby against Espanyol.
The Argentinian has been ruled out with an ankle sprain sustained in Wednesday night’s 2-1 UEFA Champions League win at Dynamo Kyiv.
A statement on the club’s official website said: “Messi has been evaluated and it has been confirmed this afternoon that he has a grade II sprain to his right ankle.
“He is out for Saturday’s game.”
The injury will now be assessed before a decision is made on his availability for the FIFA Club World Cup semi-final against either Auckland City or Atlante next Wednesday.
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