After announcing that Messi's thigh injury would keep him out for six weeks, Barca medical team released a statement declaring: "The Medical Services of the club want to put on record that, from the beginning of the season, the player has been following a specific programme suitable to his characteristics. The result of the data collected through the different exercises and controls has facilitated the availability of the player for each game."

Barca's medical staff are again coming under scrutiny after another muscular injury - his third this season - suffered by their star Argentine.

Jordi Ardevol, an ex-medical chief at Barca, revealed on Onda FM: "There is internal pressure from the club. If the major names do not play in certain games, the benefits diminish... The doctors of Barca have and will have to face such pressures in the future."