Barcelona Coach Ernesto Valverde confirms Lionel Messi could play against Inter but “we won’t take any risks”.
The Argentine hasn’t been cleared to return to action after a broken arm, but he’s been included in the squad for tomorrow’s Champions League game.
“We’re waiting for the results from the doctors,” Valverde confirmed in his pre-match Press conference.
Barcelona Coach Ernesto Valverde confirms Lionel Messi could play against Inter but “we won’t take any risks”.
The Argentine hasn’t been cleared to return to action after a broken arm, but he’s been included in the squad for tomorrow’s Champions League game.
“We’re waiting for the results from the doctors,” Valverde confirmed in his pre-match Press conference.
“He could play, but we’re not sure. He’s showing positive things in training, but we won’t put him in a position to get hurt again.
“If I don’t talk with him then I can’t say with any certainty, but we certainly won’t take any risks with Leo.”
After a 2-0 win at Camp Nou, Valverde was asked what he expects from the return fixture.
“A rival similar to the one we met at Camp Nou, maybe more aggressive, with the intention of holding possession.
“They’re doing very well and winning a lot of matches in Serie A, so we expect the best Inter.
“We’ll try to be aggressive and play the way we know. Inter will too, so we’ll need to be really attentive.
“It’s an important game for both of us and we’ll try to put ourselves in the best possible position to go through.
“We’re thinking about the present and tomorrow’s match, because we’re not through yet. Things are going well, but we’ve suffered in La Liga and the Champions League.
“The matches have been stretched to the end, just as Inter’s have been in Italy, and we’ll try to win again.
“We saw the 5-0 against Genoa, as well as everything they’ve done in recent weeks, and we’re ready for anything.
“Radja Nainggolan? He’s a good player, and he’s crucial for Inter. We already knew there was a chance he’d play.”
Luciano Spalletti joked that if his Inter side warmed up the way Barça do, they’d lose 18-0.
“I hope Inter warm up for 10 minutes tomorrow!” Valverde laughed.
“Every team has their own way of approaching a match and we have ours. I like Luciano, his Inter are brave and there’s a project which is followed to the letter.
“They press from the beginning of the match to the end, everyone is involved, they take risks but they have an winning spirit.
“We’ve seen that a lot lately, and I like it very much.”