Barcelona’s Messi substituted for ‘slight pain’

FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi reacts after scoring against Athletic Bilbao during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016. (Manu Fernandez/AP)

BARCELONA, Spain — Lionel Messi was substituted after suffering what Barcelona coach Luis Enrique called a "slight pain" during halftime of Barcelona’s 6-0 rout of 10-man Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Messi showed no signs of being slowed down as he helped Barcelona build a 2-0 lead after opening the scoring with a penalty in the seventh minute.

Luis Enrique replaced the Argentina playmaker with Arda Turan at halftime, saying later that he had done so as a precaution.

He said Messi "will have the necessary tests, but he has a slight pain. We preferred not to take a risk."

Barcelona club president Josep Bartomeu had said earlier that Messi "doesn’t have anything wrong."

In September, Messi tore a ligament in his left knee and was sidelined for two months.

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