Seeing Messi suffer does not give me any pleasure, insists Hernandez

Bayer Leverkusen striker Javier Hernandez has stressed he cannot take any pleasure from the absence of Lionel Messi in Tuesday’s Champions League encounter with Barcelona.

The Argentina international netted five times against Leverkusen last time the sides met, but he will miss Tuesday’s match due to a knee problem that will keep him out of action for seven to eight weeks.

Nevertheless, Hernandez sees no reason to celebrate Messi’s absence as he feels sad to see a fellow professional sustain a serious injury.

“Messi’s injury? It can’t be good to celebrate any injury. There’s nothing more important than your health,” Hernandez told Marca.

“In life and in any profession what we all want is to be healthy. ‘Bad luck’, I thought when it happened. It’s always bad when a player gets injured.

“Seeing another human suffer is never a nice thing. You can’t take any pleasure from it. Health is the most important thing in life.

“It’s a question for the coach whether his injury changes things for us. For my part, if I play, I’ll do what the manager says.

“We know they’re the current champions. Of course his absence could have an influence given his ability and what he represents.”