Messi to miss Barcelona's USA tour with calf injury

Lionel Messi has a minor calf strain and will not join Barcelona for their pre-season matches against Napoli in the United States.

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi will not travel to the United States with the Barcelona squad this week after sustaining a calf injury.

The Argentina star suffered a grade one strain during training on Monday and will stay in Catalonia to recover.

It was Messi's first training session since his return from holiday following the Copa America in Brazil.

Barca confirmed in a statement that Messi "withdrew from the session due to discomfort in his right leg. Tests carried out have diagnosed a Grade 1 calf strain for the Argentine."

There is no time frame for his recovery but it is unlikely he will be definitively ruled out of Barca's LaLiga opener against Athletic Bilbao on August 16.

View this post on Instagram

Tenía ganas de arrancar y lamentablemente tuve un percance en el primer entrenamiento que me va a dejar afuera un tiempito. Les agradezco a todos sus mensajes y las muestras de cariño, quería estar con el equipo y con la gente que nos sigue en USA. Esta vez no podrá ser, pero nos volveremos a ver pronto. Un abrazo a todos.

A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi) on Aug 5, 2019 at 4:19am PDT

 

"I was looking forward to starting and unfortunately I had an accident in the first training session that will leave me out for a little while," Messi wrote on Instagram.

"I'm grateful for all your messages and displays of affection, I wanted to be with the team and with the people who follow us in the USA.

"It wasn't to be this time, but we'll see each other again soon. A hug to everyone."

Ernesto Valverde's side, which beat Arsenal 2-1 in the Joan Gamper Trophy match on Sunday, travels to the USA this week for two matches against Napoli.

The first is in Miami on Wednesday and the second in Michigan on Saturday.