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Manchester United fans have been handed a glimmer of hope in the upcoming Champions League quarter-final clash against Barcelona, following an injury to Lionel Messi. The Argentine has been in sensational form but suffered an injury on his return to the national team fold.
Messi made a return to the Argentina team on Friday, playing his first game since the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The 31-year-old captained the side in an international friendly against Venezuela on Friday.
Goals from Salomon Rondon, Jhon Murillo, and Josef Martinez ensured Venezuela won the game 3-1, with Lautaro Martinez scoring Argentina’s consolation.
Worse off, Messi suffered an injury towards the end of the game and is now reportedly set for a spell on the sidelines.
Although neither Barcelona nor Argentina has released any statement on the extent on the injury, it has been speculated that the Argentine could miss the first leg of Barca’s Champions League quarter-final clash against Manchester United.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has already been sent back to Barcelona and will miss Argentina’s friendly against Morocco on Tuesday.
While many Barca fans are reeling over Messi’s injury, Man United fans are feeling the exact opposite in hope that the Argentine will miss the first-leg tie at Old Trafford.
The 31-year-old has been the star of the Catalan club, netting five goals in his last two games. Messi scored twice and set up two more as Barca beat Lyon 5-1 in the Champions League last 16 2nd-leg.
He then followed up with a sensational hat-trick against Real Betis in La Liga last week, taking his league goal tally for the season to 29.
While the Champions League quarter-final clash is still some weeks away, many fans have already taken to Twitter to react to the reports that Messi could be ruled out.
Here are some of the best tweets:
