Lionel Messi is out of Barcelona’s week-long preseason tour of the United States due to a calf injury, although the problem is not serious and the captain will most likely be ready for training next week, when the squad returns from America.
In an ideal world Messi would be with the squad to get to know his new teammates and play a couple of tune-up games before the official start of the season, but Leo is not there. Which is actually really good news for one player who is there: Carles Pérez.
After impressing in Japan and playing 45 minutes in the Joan Gamper Trophy against Arsenal, the 21-year-old earned a ticket for the plane ride with the first team to Miami and Detroit, which may not have happened if Messi was fit and able to travel.