Messi misses Barcelona training

Lionel Messi missed Barcelona training on Thursday “for personal reasons”, with the permission of head coach Luis Enrique.

Concerns were raised over a potential hamstring injury for the Argentina captain after he was seen clutching the back of his leg during Barca’s 1-1 Champions League draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.

And the Liga leaders have confirmed Messi missed their latest session, but did not refer to any injury problem, stating via their official Twitter account: “Messi did not train, with permission from the coach, due to personal reasons”.

Fellow forward Neymar, who is suffering from a groin problem, also missed the session in order to visit a Barcelona medical clinic for further assessment.