4 ways in which Messi's injury could benefit Barcelona

Having missed Barcelona’s opening day LaLiga defeat to Athletic Bilbao, Lionel Messi was expected to be back in the squad for their clash with Real Betis. But, in news which would have caused a sinking feeling in the hearts of fans of many fans of the Blaugrana, it was revealed that their number 10 had further aggravated his injury and would be ruled out for a further four weeks.

Lionel Messi is the singular most important player in the history of Barcelona, and it goes without saying that he is the club’s talisman, and whenever he is on the field, Barcelona generally tend to play better.

While his injury might not be the most ideal situation for Barcelona to be in, there are actually some positives that arise from this situation.

In this piece, we shall highlight four ways in which Messi’s injury might actually be a blessing in disguise for Barcelona.

#4 It would help the squad limit their dependence on Lionel Messi

There are numerous players capable of stepping up in Messi's absence

Messi is undisputedly the most decisive player of his generation and indeed one of the most decisive of all time. With him on the pitch, Barcelona actually have something of a handicap over their opponents, as he possesses an unbelievable repertoire of skills to harm the team on the other side.

Whenever Barcelona play with Messi in their ranks, there is an overwhelming confidence to their game and the Rosario native functions as the fulcrum through which all Barcelona’s play revolves around.

All the other players need to do is get the ball to him, get out of the way or make runs for passes, and victory is almost guaranteed. This creates something of a complacency in his teammates. They know that they could be forgiven for not performing at an optimum with a genius like Messi there to bail them out.

More often than not, this happens to be the case, and Barcelona have been very successful. But there have been occasions where Barcelona’s overdependence on Messi has come back to haunt them.

The current Blaugrana squad is littered with a host of proven performers who are more than capable of holding their own. Messi’s injury would help bring out the best in each of them, as they now have to be at their best to achieve victory, which is a good thing for Ernesto Valverde. Complacency is not an option.

#3 Messi’s injury would help in the integration of younger players in the squad

Messi's injury gave 16-year-old Fati a chance to shine

For all of Lionel Messi’s seeming extraterrestrial abilities, it must be remembered that he is very much human with the same frailties and shortcomings as the rest of us.

Despite the thought being too harrowing to fathom, the reality is that a time would come when there would be no Lionel Messi. Having turned 32 over the summer, that time is fast approaching; hence, the earlier Barcelona prepares for life without their record goalscorer, the better it is for the club.

Whenever he is fit, it serves as a no-brainer that Messi would almost always start, but injury concerns such as the one he faces at the moment paves the door for youngsters at the club to shine.

Given the path Lionel Messi as well as most of his legendary Barcelona contemporaries followed, it is highly likely that the player who would inherit the mantle would come from the La Masia ranks, as the club have a history of failing to hit the mark with big-money signings.

The injury sustained by Messi in addition to those suffered by Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele has opened a window of opportunities for youngsters to shine, and it is one that they are seemingly ready to grab with both hands.

Carles Perez scored his first senior goal for the club against Real Betis over the weekend, while the highly-rated 16-year-old Ansu Fati became the second-youngest player to represent Barcelona in La Liga in the club’s illustrious history and generally drew positive reviews.

For as long as Messi remains injured, these La Masia upstarts would be given a shot at glory, and seeing as they are potentially the future of the club, the faster they are blooded, the better it is for Barcelona’s prospects.

#2 It would help in facilitating Antoine Griezmann’s transition

Griezmann scored a brace on his Nou Camp debut

After one of the more long, drawn-out transfer speculations of the summer, Barcelona finally signed Antoine Griezmann when they triggered the full value of his release clause at €120m.

The French international is one of the best players in the world, and has the potential to take Barcelona to another level, but his arrival was not greeted with as much fanfare as is befitting a player of his calibre.

A major reason for this was that fans had not entirely been won over after the 28-year-old publicly humiliated them by turning down the club’s pursuit despite Barcelona’s board and players making it abundantly clear that they wanted him.

Indeed, the senior players including Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were less forthcoming this time around about Griezmann’s arrival which went in contrast to their open arm plea last summer.

Griezmann himself had said that a major reason why he spurned the chance to come to Barcelona was that he did not want to be Messi's lieutenant, having enjoyed a starring role at Atletico Madrid.

Beyond what was said or done in the past, the reality now is that Griezmann is very much a Barcelona player, and it would be in all parties’ interests if he were to settle down quickly at the club.

The chances of that happening (at least on the field) with Messi around is rather slim, because as already highlighted, everything revolves around the Argentine, and it is somewhat up to the whims and caprices of Messi to determine if Griezmann gets to shine on the field or not which is exactly what the World Cup winner meant by being his lieutenant.

Messi’s absence through injury has afforded Griezmann the chance to take centre stage, and it is one he has taken with aplomb.

The former Atletico Madrid man is a player of undoubted quality and in his Camp Nou debut grabbed a brace and an assist to endear him to the Barcelona faithful.

For the next four weeks, Griezmann would get the chance to be the captain of the ship, and if he steps up to the plate, his transition phase into Barcelona acceptance would undoubtedly be much easier.

#1 It would help Lionel Messi return sharper and stronger

Unlike a lot of his teammates, Lionel Messi did not have the luxury of a full summer break. His participation in the Copa America with Argentina meant that while most of his Barcelona colleagues were stretching around and relaxing on sunny beaches after a long year of footballing activity, he had to take in an extra one month of competitive action.

That one month saw him play all 90 minutes of Argentina’s first five fixtures, as well as the first 43 of their third-place playoff with Chile before a red card ended his campaign prematurely.

That combined for a total of 493 minutes of gruelling football in the physically demanding Copa America, and this added to the 45 minutes Messi played in Argentina's warm-up game against Nicaragua meant that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner spent an extra 538 minutes in action during the summer.

Though he was given an extended two-week break before resuming for Barcelona, the fact of the matter is that Lionel Messi's extra exertions at the Copa America meant that he did not adequately recover from the last season.

Adequate rest is essential to the peak performance of any professional athlete, and while he might still be undergoing intensive recovery sessions, Lionel Messi would undoubtedly return fitter and stronger as a result of the extra time out of action.