Messi had to be carried off and the fear was that he would have an injury which would prevent him from breaking Gerd Muller's all time record for goals in a calendar year, which the Argentine is one short of.

"Tests carried out tonight have confirmed that the player has a bruising of the bone on the outside of the left knee," Barcelona said in a statement.

"The rate of his recovery will determine whether he will be available for the next game, on Sunday against Real Betis."