What if Messi is playing while injured?

Messi is Barça. If Messi is not doing well, Barça will not do well, and if Messi is injured, the alarms go off. The Argentinean is sounding a silent alarm. No newspapers report it, and the club has stayed silent, but it's undeniable: the pictures show it.

One of the most striking examples recently came in Barcelona's Champions League match against Napoli. During the warm-up, he was seen touching his thigh and wincing with his face. This happened every time he hit the ball hard or gave a powerful pass.

These suspicions are heightened by the fact that he has been wearing a compression bandage on his thigh for several days. In fact, the bandages have come and gone, as he was wearing one in the league match against Granada, which took place on January 19, on LaLiga matchday, and again against Getafe (the 15th of February).

Spanish media also showed more images and video documents, in which you can see the Argentinian clearly affected by some kind of injury. Having so much media coverage throughout the years means that the public has come to know his expressions, and his face of pain has been seen again and again in recent weeks. 

Could this be a relapse of his previous injury? At the beginning of the season, in an injury that Barcelona did confirm with a corresponding medical report, the club revealed that his star had this problem in the left thigh. Exactly the same spot that has been covered in bandages as of late. 

The 'Clasico' was the final cause for concern after a few months in which the Barcelona captain is not managing to perform at his usual level. 

He has not managed to score away from home for three months, when he did so against Atletico Madrid on Matchday 15 with a goal. Since then, his best contribution far from the Camp Nou was in the Benito Villamarín against Real Betis. He gave three assists, giving one of his best performances this season. 

Which, in itself, is very impressive, but also very worrying: Messi is still the decisive player even when possibly injured. Even with an irregular performance and physical discomfort, Setién continues to line up and he seems to be trying his luck. But how long can it really last?