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| *Messi,Neme |
Messi hasn't played since tearing
his left hamstring in November, his fourth leg injury last year.
He returned to training with
Barcelona last week after recovering in Argentina.
Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said
Messi "feels fine" but didn't reveal if the club's all-time leading
scorer will start or stay on the bench.
"Messi rehabbed well and has
trained like the rest of the team," Martino said. "Maybe he lacks
some playing time, but with Leo I don't think that will be a problem.
"Messi gives us all a boost of
confidence. With him at our side, we all feel more secure."
Martino said that if Messi plays he
hopes he can repeat his remarkable goal against Getafe in 2007, when he
dribbled from his own half, slaloming by a series of defenders, to net arguably
his greatest goal.
Barcelona lost its only two games of
the season without Messi, but it has managed to hold onto a share of the
Spanish league lead with Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona hosts Getafe in the first
leg of the round of 16 before travelling to Atletico on Saturday in one of the
most highly anticipated league matches of the season.
In Messi's absence, Pedro Rodriguez,
Neymar and, most recently, Alexis Sanchez have picked up the scoring slack.
Pedro leads the team with 15 goals in all competitions this season, one more
than Messi.
Martino left Xavi Hernandez, Dani
Alves and Marc Bartra off his squad for the Getafe match. He also confirmed
that backup goalkeeper Jose Pinto will continue to start in the Copa del Rey,
as he had under prior coaches Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova.
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