Barcelona captain Lionel Messi "has been in pain since Christmas" according to Ernesto Valverde, who is hopeful the forward can return to La Liga action this weekend.
The 31-year-old suffered a groin injury while on international duty with Argentina last week on what was his first return to the international stage since the 2018 World Cup.
He played the full 90 minutes of La Albiceleste's 3-1 defeat to Venezuela but was forced to miss the 1-0 win over Morroco on Tuesday and returned to the Camp Nou to start his recovery.