Lionel Messi LEFT OUT of Barcelona’s 19-man Champions League squad for trip to Dynamo Kiev as Ronald Koeman claims his star man ‘needs to rest’
- Lionel Messi has been left out Barcelona’s 19-man squad to face Dynamo Kiev
- The Argentine has been rested along with Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong
- Manager Ronald Koeman advised Messi ‘needs a rest’ as club’s injuries pile up
Barcelona have left Lionel Messi out of their 19-man squad to face Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Manager Ronald Koeman has decided to rest Messi and midfielder Frenkie de Jong for the Group G match in the Ukraine with fixtures coming thick and fast.
Koeman advised it was the right time to give them a break because they are in a good position in their group and need to focus on LaLiga after a struggling start which leaves them 12th.
Lionel Messi has been left out Barcelona’s 19-man squad to face Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday
Manager Ronald Koeman has decided to rest Messi (R) and Frenkie de Jong (L) for the away tie
‘We’ve got various players out due to injuries and we have decided that we won’t be taking Leo or Frenkie because the situation in the Champions League is something that is quite comfortable with the nine points that we’ve got’, Koeman said on the omissions.
‘These two players need to rest because they have played a lot of matches and we think this is a good moment to rest them.’
The superstar forward is due a rest after missing just 45 minutes of action in total for Barca this season and played all of both Argentina’s games against Paraguay and Peru last week.
Messi has missed 45 minutes this season and travelled to play twice for Argentina last week
The club can ill afford another injury after Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto joined Ansu Fati and Samuel Umtiti in the long-term absentee list.
The Catalan club’s misery at suffering another LaLiga defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid on Saturday was made worse by the injuries suffered to the pair in their 1-0 reverse, with both players expected to be out for several months.
A win for Barca on Tuesday will secure a place in the knock-out stages for them as they already sit eight points ahead of their opponents on the night with three games still to play.
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