Lionel Messi injured in Champions League

“(Messi) feels fine, he isn’t bothered (by the knee),” Vilanova said. “If he is traveling, it’s because he’s in condition to play. It there existed even the smallest risk, he wouldn’t travel with the team.”

Vilanova did not say whether Messi would start or come off the bench, but that he is available puts him back in the running to break Gerd Mueller’s record for most goals in a year. Mueller scored 85 goals for Bayern Munich and West Germany in 1972 and Messi is just one behind, sitting on 84 goals for Barcelona and Argentina in 2012.

Messi spoke with the press and said his knee feels much better despite fearing the worst after the initial collision with Benfica goalkeeper Artur Moraes.

He also admitted that he feared his career might be in jeopardy as he was carted off the pitch at the end of Barcelona’s scoreless draw with Benfica. The official club line is that Messi suffered a bruised left knee.

Of course, after hearing that all the commotion was only about a bruise, there were those who reacted in a manner other than expressing their joy at the fact the little man was returning. There’s no pleasing some people.

Messi has not undergone a MRI yet so it is possible that the injury is more serious than just a bruise, but the initial evaluation is encouraging. When he went off the field in apparent pain, there was fear that Messi had suffered a serious injury so if it is just a bruise and a week or two on the sidelines, Messi and Barcelona will consider themselves fortunate.

Messi was in all alone on Artur and danced around him, but the Benfica keeper reached out and knocked into the Argentine. Messi took a couple more awkward steps before shooting and falling to the turf, clutching his knee.

If true, Messi, Barcelona and the entire world can take a deep breath. Nobody wants to see the superstar hurt and it did not look good when he had to be carted off, but a few weeks on the sidelines is a manageable absence.

Barcelona has never really had to deal with a Messi-less life before. The Argentine constantly defies physics on the ball and he does the same with his health, taking tackles and collisions like they are nothing. He has not missed an extended period of time since 2006, when he was still an up-and-coming player, not an established star.

Messi didn’t move around much and the physios immediately brought on the cart, putting Messi on a stretcher and having him driven off the pitch. It’s way too early to tell how bad the injury is or if they were just trying to be careful with Messi, but there’s going to be a ton of people waiting desperately for an update on the health of one of the world’s best players.

Tito Vilanova had just used his final substitute so Barcelona were forced to finish the match with only 10 men.