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FC Barcelona are likely to be without the services of Lionel Messi and Neymar for their Club World Cup final against River Plate on Sunday. The dynamic duo had already missed the semi-final victory against Chinese outfit Guangzhou Evergrande due to injury.
The loss of Barcelona's effective strike partners were not felt majorly after Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez netted a hat-trick which took his tally to 21 goals this season. The ‘MSN’ trio have already plundered an astonishing 130 goals for Barcelona in 2015.
Neymar picked up an injury in training leading up to Barcelona's final Champions League group stage clash away at Leverkusen. “Neymar suffered a small muscle injury in the abductor of his left leg. The development of the injury will determine his availability for the upcoming games," Barcelona had said in a statement right after he limped off.
The Brazilian forward has been in sensational form this season with an impressive return of 16 goals in 18 appearances. Earlier, he was rewarded for a series of excellent displays by being crowned as La Liga's player of the month in November – the first time a Barcelona player won the award. The Catalan club will have to wait to see if Neymar is fit enough to play the final.
Messi has kidney stones related problem
Messi was also ruled out of Barcelona's semi-final clash due to a renal colic, a problem associated with kidney stones. Barcelona sporting director Robert Fernandez has admitted that the Spanish club are currently in the dark over the availability of the superstar for the final against River Plate.
Barcelona had released a club statement saying, “Leo Messi will not be playing in today’s Club World Cup semi-final against Guangzhou Evergrande. The Argentine striker is suffering from renal colic, a type of abdominal pain commonly caused by kidney stones, and will be absent for the 11:30 am CET kick-off against the Asian champions.”
Robert Fernandez added, “Leo isn't well. He's got a renal colic, and we all know how painful that can be. Let's see how he does overnight, how the symptoms evolve and we'll see how he is and if he can play in the next game.”
Messi came back to fitness recently after a 2-month absence and is now sidelined again and the injury means that Barcelona will have to cope with the loss of their best player yet again. Both Douglas and Dani Alves also missed training and stayed back at the hotel with Messi.
Barcelona may have to do without Messi and Neymar on Sunday, but they will be fully confident with their semi-final performance and Luis Suarez's sparkling form which could lead them to their third Club World Cup title, the most by any club.
