Ivan Rakitic hopes Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique injuries aren’t too bad

Ivan Rakitic said he hopes injuries to Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique aren’t too serious after Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Valencia.

Ernesto Valverde has confirmed Messi suffered a thigh problem, while Pique suffered a cut to his head during the match.

Rakitic spoke about both players after the match.

“We hope more doubles come,” he said. “It’s a shame he [Messi] ended the game suffering a bit. We hope it’s nothing, like for Pique, because we have very interesting games coming up.

“It’s not easy to play a Valencia side who came with a lot of confidence for their results from recent weeks who played tightly in defence. They waited to counter us and didn’t take too many risks, but we worked hard.”

Source | Sport

Barcelona return to action on Wednesday against Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and then head to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday in La Liga.