Messi fit enough for Barca gym session

Posted Friday, December 07, 2012 by ESPN

Lionel Messi worked out in the gym as his Barcelona team-mates trained, and could yet be fit for Sunday's match against Real Betis.

Messi gave Barca a major injury scare in Wednesday's goalless draw, colliding with Benfica goalkeeper Artur Moraes and then falling awkwardly in the 84th minute.

But the club said on Wednesday that Messi had suffered nothing more than a bruised left knee and on Thursday they confirmed via their twitter account that he had been able to work in the gym.

"I feel fine, but I don't know yet if I will be available for Sunday," he said at a promotional event at the Nou Camp on Thursday, reported on the team's official website and in AS. "I'll see. I am grateful for all the messages of support I have received."

Messi said he was hurt when he struck Moraes, but then tried to score with a curling shot before falling to the ground and clutching his knee.

"I thought it was the last shot I was going to have for a long time," he said. "So I decided to gamble and hit it."

Admitting he feared the worst, he added: "The truth is I did not think about anything because all I could feel was the pain. But in a moment I thought the worst. When it was shown it was not a severe injury I was calmer."

Messi's involvement in Wednesday's game has been a major talking point in light of the injury he suffered as the match was essentially meaningless to Tito Vilanova's men, already assured of top spot in Group G.

But Messi said he never let the fear of injury affect his approach to the game, and that he preferred to stay sharp by playing.

"Something similar could have happened in training or anywhere else," he said. "Whenever you walk onto a pitch there is a risk."

The 25-year-old went into the game one goal shy of Gerd Muller's record of 85 in a calendar year and there were suggestions the Argentina forward had only played in order to chase the milestone.

However, Messi said the record was not as important to him as was being made out.

"As I have always said, for me the record is not an obsession," he said.

"My colleagues have said they will help me and with them, I am not worried.

"It would be great, and hopefully if I do it, it will stand for a long time like Muller's, but it's not something I worry about. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't matter. But we are close so we will try."

Messi also downplayed the potential detrimental affect an injury to him could have on Barcelona.

"They would continue to play with or without me," he said. "There are plenty of other players."

Vilanova made a host of changes for Wednesday's match, several of them enforced, but Messi's apparent let-off was not the only good news on the injury front Thursday.

Andres Iniesta, Alexis Sanchez, Jordi Alba and Dani Alves all took part in training with the rest of the squad, while Eric Abidal was able to return to the field for lighter workouts.