Lionel Messi has been medically cleared to play and will be available to Tito Vilanova
when Barcelona square off against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the
UEFA Champions League semifinals. The Argentine was given the go-ahead
by the Barcelona medical staff on Tuesday afternoon, hours before the
clash at the Allianz Arena.
Messi injured his hamstring in the first leg of Barcelona's
Champions League quarterfinal against Paris Saint-Germain. He was
substituted off at halftime and while he was deemed fit enough to come
off the bench in the second leg of that tie, he had not played in
Barcelona's last three league matches.
Messi was included in the team
for the first leg at Bayern without having been deemed fit and available
by the medical team. He trained at the Allianz on Monday with the team,
but his status for the match was still not confirmed until Tuesday.
Whether Messi starts or not is
still up in the air because he has not played much in the last month so
his fitness is a concern. Messi showed the difference in Barcelona with
and without him in the second leg of the quarterfinals when his
introduction gave Barcelona a jolt and led to the goal that would see
them through to the semifinals. Barcelona are now left to hope that he
can be that jolt from the opening whistle, and now as a substitute.
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