Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are ready to take off against Real Mallorca for Barcelona, the head coach Quique Setien reported. Setien in Barcelona had good news about the health of Lionel Messi and a schedule for the returning Luis Suarez.
Barca returns to the LaLiga action on Saturday following the coronavirus-enforced break with a trip to Son Moix and a victory over relegation-threatened opponents will see them extend their lead at the top.
The reigning Spanish champions are sitting two points apart from rivals Real Madrid, who are not in action until Sunday when they host Eibar in the capital.
Messi’s fitness was a major concern ahead of this resumption- the talismanic forward dealing with a quadricep injury. But since returning to training with the rest of the squad at the beginning of the week, he has suffered no further setbacks.
“He’s ready to play, he’s perfectly okay. He’s trained well, there is no problem,” Setien said as his pre-match media conference say AS. “Messi and a lot of these players know how to gauge things and how to save their strength when necessary. As for breaks, we’ll see. For some, the more time they’re on the pitch, the better.”
As for Suarez, the striker has scored 14 goals in all competitions this season but has not featured since January 9.
Suarez was apparently set to miss the rest of the 2019-20 campaign with a knee injury ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, though, the Uruguay international is back for the rearranged run-in of the season, both in domestic duties and in the Champions League.
However, Setien should be careful with a player returning from a lengthy lay-off, meaning that Suarez won’t play against Mallorca the whole game.
“Surely he is to be a starter, but not for the full 90 minutes,” the Barca boss explained. “We will not take risks after five months. It will be good for him to play and he will need games to be the same as he was before.”
