The troublesome hamstring injury which has hampered Leo Messi since last month now looks set to mean an end to his season. Messi was substituted during Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday – a result which earned them the La Liga title – and it now looks as if he will be out of action for another 3 weeks. Messi’s departure in Sunday’s game meant Barca played on with just 10 men, as all 3 subs had been used.

Messi has enjoyed a long period without any spells of injury and, prior to Sunday’s game, he had not failed to score in a La Liga game in which he played since November of last year. He firct incurred the injury in the Champions League quarter final, away to Paris Saint Germain. He returned, although not fully fit, to save Barca from a shock exit in the second leg, however his obvious lack of fitness became a major talking point as Barcelona found themselves easily beaten in the following round by Bayern Munich.