• Barcelona striker Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring the second of his goals in a convincing win over Eibar. EPA
    Barcelona striker Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring the second of his goals in a convincing win over Eibar. EPA
  • Lionel Messi (R) celebrates with teammate Antoine Griezmann. EPA
    Lionel Messi (R) celebrates with teammate Antoine Griezmann. EPA
  • Eibar's Serbian goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic fails to stop the ball kicked by Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi. AFP
    Eibar's Serbian goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic fails to stop the ball kicked by Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi. AFP
  • Barcelona striker Lionel Mess. EPA
    Barcelona striker Lionel Mess. EPA
  • Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring the first of his three-first-half goals against Eibar. EPA
    Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring the first of his three-first-half goals against Eibar. EPA
  • Barcelona striker Lionel Messi (L) celebrates with teammate Arturo Vidal. EPA
    Barcelona striker Lionel Messi (L) celebrates with teammate Arturo Vidal. EPA
  • Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring his second goal. AFP
    Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring his second goal. AFP
  • Lionel Messi scores against Eibar at Camp Nou. AFP
    Lionel Messi scores against Eibar at Camp Nou. AFP
  • Barcelona's Lionel Messi in action. AFP
    Barcelona's Lionel Messi in action. AFP
  • epa08238025 FC Barcelona's president Josep Maria Bartomeu (L) and Eibar's president Amaia Gorostiza (2-L) attend the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and SD Eibar at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, 22 February 2020. EPA/ALBERTO ESTEVEZ
    epa08238025 FC Barcelona's president Josep Maria Bartomeu (L) and Eibar's president Amaia Gorostiza (2-L) attend the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and SD Eibar at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, 22 February 2020. EPA/ALBERTO ESTEVEZ
  • Barcelonanew signing Martin Braithwaite looks on before the match. AFP
    Barcelonanew signing Martin Braithwaite looks on before the match. AFP
  • Barcelona´s Danish forward Martin Braithwaite gives the thumb up during the Spanish league football match FC Barcelona against SD Eibar at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on February 22, 2020. / AFP / Josep LAGO
    Barcelona´s Danish forward Martin Braithwaite gives the thumb up during the Spanish league football match FC Barcelona against SD Eibar at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on February 22, 2020. / AFP / Josep LAGO
  • Eibar's Spanish defender Jose Angel reacts after Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi scored a third goa. AFP
    Eibar's Spanish defender Jose Angel reacts after Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi scored a third goa. AFP

Lionel Messi and Barcelona ready for tests as La Liga prepares for training return


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Barcelona have confirmed Lionel Messi and the rest of the squad will undergo coronavirus tests on Wednesday after passing a league inspection to permit players to begin using the club's training facilities.

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are also scheduled to carry out tests on Wednesday, with the plan for players to start restricted individual training later this week ahead of the proposed resumption of La Liga next month.

Barcelona confirmed they had passed their inspection on Tuesday morning. "The first team will return to the training ground on Wednesday to do the relevant medical tests before starting solo training in the coming days," a club statement read.

"La Liga gave the green light to carry out these tests after the inspection of the club's facilities was completed this morning."

La Liga has been inspecting facilities at every club to ensure they comply with strict medical protocol.

After receiving the league's approval, clubs can begin to implement programmes for players train alone, then in small groups, before finally in larger team sessions.

La Liga's timetable roughly corresponds to the four-phase de-escalation programme announced by the Spanish government last week, which allowed adults to exercise outside on Saturday for the first time in seven weeks.

In the fourth and final phase, scheduled for early June, the government have said outside events can go ahead when attended by fewer than 400 people.

La Liga is proposing to complete its season behind closed doors, with games starting again in the middle of June.

Football in Spain, much like the rest of Europe, has been suspended since mid-March due to the Covid-19 outbreak.