Argentina manager says Barcelona don't take care of Lionel Messi
Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza is not too happy with Barcelona and blasted the club for letting Lionel Messi get injured on their watch.
"Barcelona always sends us messages saying that we must take care of Messi, but they don't take care of him very well," Bauza told FOX Sports in Chile. "It is strange that they make him play in all their matches."
Messi went down and had to exit Barca's 1-1 draw to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, and the club later revealed he had suffered a torn groin muscle that will keep him out for three weeks.
Groin issues weren't new for the star, though, who missed time for both club and country this month because of it, and Bauza took issue with Messi playing four games in 12 days for Barca despite the problems. A left adductor injury forced him to miss Argentina's World Cup qualifying match against Venezuela on Sept. 6 and he then played in four straight Barcelona matches starting on Sept. 10 against Alaves, Celtic, Leganes and Atletico Madrid.
Bauza criticized Barcelona's assessment that the recovery time for Messi's injury is three weeks and said he thinks Messi will be forced to miss World Cup qualifiers at Peru on Oct. 6 and home against Paraguay five days later.
"We received the official report from Barcelona. To us, that seems strange because three weeks is not enough time to repair a torn adductor," Bauza told ESPN Radio. "We haven't yet been able to speak with him, but we want to know how serious the injury is."
He added: "I am envisioning the team without Messi because if Leo left the field it is because something happened."
MORE FROM FOX SOCCER:
