Lionel Messi Hamstring Injury Fears Raised After Bayer Leverkusen vs. Barcelona

Lionel Messi has sparked concerns over a potential injury after he was seen clutching his hamstring on several occasions during Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.

Per Spanish outlet Sport, the Argentinian superstar clearly seemed to be struggling in the second half at the BayArena, but Luis Enrique opted not to substitute him, despite having one change left.

Having opened the scoring after 20 minutes against the Bundesliga side, Messi was consistently seen nursing his left leg late on, per El Chiringuito TV:

Per Sport, the Argentinian didn't train with the squad on Thursday, only adding to the injury fears. Barcelona ruled out an injury, however, and instead claimed he missed the training session for "personal reasons," per the report.

Messi was absent from Dec. 2's Copa del Rey game against Villanovense, but Enrique explained the situation at the time, with the 28-year-old having only recently returned from a long lay-off with a knee injury, per the official Barcelona website: "Messi played 30 minutes in the [Santiago] Bernabeu, 90 against Roma and 90 against Real Sociedad, I didn’t want to overload him. We decided it was for the best and we considered it the best for the team."

Messi went on to play 90 minutes in Saturday's 1-1 La Liga draw with Valencia, but his troubles against Leverkusen will be a cause for concern.

Barca have some key fixtures coming up in December and already have concerns over Neymar after the Brazilian picked up a groin injury, per Sport.

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The Blaugrana face Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga on Saturday ahead of their participation in the Club World Cup in Japan.

Though Enrique will, of course, want his best player available for every game, he will likely rest Messi against Depor if there is any hint of a hamstring problem.

In his storied career, Messi has escaped many serious injuries. However, he did not play at all this year between Sept. 26 and Nov. 21, and he may still be lacking a little match fitness.

Given how important he is to the club, he must be protected at all costs. However, it must be a positive sign that he was not forced to leave the pitch during the Bayer clash in the Champions League.