Barcelona have been left to sweat over Lionel Mess's most recent injury, as the star has returned to Spain for treatment after picking up a groin problem during Argentina's World Cup qualifying match against Uruguay last Tuesday.
The forward scored the only goal of the match, but things ended quite badly for him.
Initially, it was thought that the injury was not that serious and that Messi would be available for his country's next fixture against Venezuela on Tuesday, however, he has been sent back to Spain to receive treatment.
Speakingto Argentine paper Ole,Messi revealed that his groin is 'messed up' and could get worse if he returns to the pitch too early.
"My groin hurts a lot. It is messed up and it could get worse," he remarked.
"I always want to play, but the truth is that the season is just starting and there are a lot of important matches ahead of us."
Spanish newspaper AS worsened Barcelona fans' fears with their Sunday headline which reads:S.O.S. Messi “ Barca tremble�.
S.O.S Messi, el Barça tiembla https://t.co/ek7cBdsPqE pic.twitter.com/28p3q6LKcO
The sub-headlines read: "The player says his injury 'is messed up' and returns with urgency to Barcelona.
"In the past seven years, he has played more minutes than Cristiano."
Whether or not he will feature for his club in their next match is still uncertain, and it is expected that he will be given time off to fully recover from his injury.
The La Liga champions are set to face Alaves in their next league game on Sunday, and have a Champions League group stage match as well as an away fixture against Leganes before playing Atletico Madrid at home.