Barcelona Injury News: Valverde Provides Update On Lionel Messi, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen

Lionel Messi and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen will undergo medical tests Thursday ahead of Barcelona's trip to Sevilla on Saturday, according to manager Ernesto Valverde.

Messi traveled with the Argentina squad during the international break but played no part in La Albiceleste's games against Italy and Spain — both ending in 2-0 and 6-1 defeats, respectively — as the 30-year-old was suffering from a minor hamstring problem.

Meanwhile, Ter Stegen was rested for Germany's 1-0 loss to Brazil on Tuesday and is expected to miss Barcelona's next game because of a knee problem.

Barcelona are one step closer to securing a third La Liga crown in four years as they are still unbeaten in first place, 11 points above Atletico Madrid with nine league games left to play.

But with his side also playing in the Copa del Rey and Champions League next month, Valverde is wary about his players' fitness levels coming back from the international break, particularly that of Messi, who boasts 35 goals and 16 assists in all competitions this season.

"We do not know too much about the physical condition of Messi and Ter Stegen," Valverde said on Wednesday, as per FourFourTwo. "This Thursday they will undergo medical tests to assess their status. I'm calm about Messi's injury. Tomorrow we will see how he feels."

"Messi finished the last game with Athletic Bilbao well, it is true that he had a little trouble, but it was nothing important. I still do not know what we are going to do, we think and hope it is not important."

"We are not going to worry before time, when the doctors see him we will decide the steps to follow, but we think it is not important. We will play in all of the competitions this month and we will see how the players are when they return from international duty. The three points against Sevilla can be quite decisive."

Meanwhile, Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique both came through unscathed after featuring for Spain. In addition, Andre Gomes and Jasper Cillessen featured in a training session on Wednesday after returning from international duty with Portugal and Netherlands respectively.

La Blaugrana's visit of Sevilla on Saturday will be followed by the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal clash with Roma on Wednesday with the return leg taking place on April 10.

Valverde's men will then face Sevilla once again in the Copa del Rey final, which takes place April 21 in what will be a crucial month as they seek to complete a historic treble for just the second time since 2009.