Barcelona got a tremendous scare Wednesday night when super star Lionel Messi was carted off the field after colliding with Benfica's goalkeeper Arthur Moraes during their final UEFA Champions League match.
Many rumored a major knee injury, but it turns out the the Argentine superstar will be fine. Reports indicate that Messi worked out in the gym early this morning.
"I sincerely thought it was the last ball I would be touching for a long time because of the pain. I tried to go ahead and shoot, but I didn't have the strength," Messi told reporters.
However, he did mention that he may not be available to play this weekend in Barcelona's match against Real Betis.
A great deal was made of coach Tito Vilanova's decision to play Messi in a match with low stakes. Barcelona had already qualified for the second round of the UCL and Vilanova had essentially fielded a B-Team to start the match.
One of the possibilities brought up was that he wanted to give Messi a chance to break the 85 goal record in a single calendar year set by Gerd Muller. Messi currently has 84 goals in all competitions in 2012.
However, Messi quickly discounted that his entry into the match was the result of the record. "When we go out on the pitch we always have the risk that something might happen," he said. "Muller's record is not an obsession for me. It would be nice to break it, because the record has been there for many years. If it happens then good, but there is no problem if not."
Barcelona takes on Real Betis on Sunday afternoon. The squad currently has an 11 point lead on rival Real Madrid and a six point lead on second place Atletico Madrid.