Ernesto Valverde Compares Messi-Smalling Collision to 'Being Hit by a Truck'

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has compared the collision between Lionel Messi and Chris Smalling during the first leg of the UEFA Champions League tie with Manchester United as "being hit by a truck," explaining why the Argentinian will not feature against Huesca on Saturday. 

Per ESPN FC's Samuel Marsden, Valverde wouldn't reveal whether Messi would play or not in the pre-match press conference before he named the squad: "It's possible that Messi rests. I spoke with him [on Thursday] and he's doing OK after the blow to the face. But he was knocked [by the incident]. [It was like] being hit by a truck. We will assess him in training [on Friday] but it's likely that he will rest."

He wasn't included in the squad for the match, however, along with several other stars:

Smalling and Messi came together during the 1-0 win for Barcelona, a clash that left the 31-year-old forward bloodied:

He was able to continue after receiving treatment but notably struggled for much of the contest. A Luke Shaw own-goal still gave the Blaugrana a crucial win on the road, however, and they'll start the return leg on Tuesday with a crucial away goal under their belt.

Smalling said he and Messi spoke after the match, and the forward knew he didn't hit him on purpose:

Huesca will provide Barcelona with the perfect opportunity to rest their starters, as the minnows from Aragon sit in last place in the La Liga standings. They are winless in their last five matches, although they made life hard on Real Madrid in March, losing 3-2 at the Bernabeu.

The Blaugrana have a double-digit lead in La Liga and are close to winning yet another title, so they could even afford a poor result in the weekend. Their last outing was a win over Atletico Madrid that all but ended the title race.

United will find it much harder to rest their stars in the Premier League, where they face a real battle to finish in the top four and earn a ticket to next year's Champions League. West Ham make the trip to Old Trafford on Saturday, and on paper, they present much stiffer opposition than Huesca.