According to Barcelona statement - Messi on the mend

Lionel Messi is making good progress with his recovery from the groin strain he sustained in the Villarreal match, Barça have revealed in a statement.

Following Argentina's 4-2 win over Germany, which Messi missed, the Argentinian national-team doctor, Daniel Martínez, travelled to Barcelona to run the rule over the forward's muscle complaints together with the club's medical staff.

The verdict on both sides was that there has been substantial improvement to Messi's condition, but he will continue to do specific recovery exercises in training. No date has been set for his return to action as of yet.

The star was examined during the club's Thursday training session, in which the first team and the reserves faced off. Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Thomas Vermaelen skipped this training match owing to their injuries and instead did rehabilitation work, while Jordi Masip - who fractured a finger earlier in the week - had some physio.

Meanwhile, Javier Mascherano, who did feature in Argentina's game on Wednesday, was eased back into the fold, as is usual after a match.