Messi Returning to Barca on Wednesday

• AS, Tuesday, December 31, 2013 2:31 PM

Lionel Messi will fly back to Barcelona on New Year's Day, having completed his recovery program from the hamstring injury he suffered in October. The idea, AS reports, is for the four-time Ballon d’Or winner to return to the first team in time for Barca’s top-of-the-standings La Liga clash at Atletico Madrid on Jan. 11.

Speaking to the television program ‘Mundo Leo’ the Barca striker spoke of his hopes for the New Year: “At a personal level there are lots of important things, but on a sporting level I’d ask to be injury free in 2014. The goal at the moment is to get fully fit, with the idea of having a couple of practice sessions with my teammates before coming back to play.”

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