LIONEL MESSI has handed Barcelona a huge injury boost ahead of Wednesday's El Clasico by returning to training.
The Argentine superstar picked up a thigh knock in Saturday's 2-2 fightback against Valencia but is winning his race to recover in time to face Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final.
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However, boss Ernesto Valverde insisted he will take no risks as Barcelona - whose players will wear special shirts to celebrate the Chinese New Year - prepare for three clashes with Real in the next four weeks.
Barca host their biggest rivals in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg - four days after Messi hurt his thigh against Valencia.
The 31-year-old lasted 90 minutes and netted twice - making it 12 goals in his past 11 games - but looked in discomfort at the end and did not train on Monday.
Valverde said on Tuesday night: "We will see how he is. I'm not big on taking risks when there are a lot of games ahead of us.
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"If La Liga ended tomorrow, if it was our last game... but if a player has an injury, whether it's Messi or not, I prefer to be careful."
Real chief Santiago Solari, whose third-placed side are eight points adrift of La Liga leaders Barca, said: "It's always good to play the best in every game.
"Whether or not he plays does not influence our preparation.
"The important thing is tomorrow's game.
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"In football you have to look at the short, the medium and the long term, but the competition has its own rhythm and can cause unexpected things."
With Messi, Barca have a strong record against Real, but without him they drew 1-1 at the Nou Camp in 2006 and lost 2-1 away the next year.
Yet Messi has never scored against Real in SIX Copa del Rey clashes.
