Barcelona manager, Ernesto Valverde, has admitted that Lionel Messi was left stunned by his treatment at the hands of Manchester United last week.
Messi was left bloodied by a Chris Smalling challenge in the first half and never really recovered throughout the match. The Argentine superstar was rested along with almost the entire XI that had played in Manchester, for the weekend LaLiga 0-0 draw over bottom side Huesca. Valverde insists Messi is fit again and raring to go with a semi-final against Liverpool or Porto up for grabs in the Nou Camp.“He is fine, he is perfectly fine after the blow he suffered. He was okay a couple of days after it.
“But he was a little bit stunned at the time, although he’s okay now for this game and ready to go,” Valverde told a press conference on Monday.