I did not deliberately injure Messi - Bigas

Pedro Bigas has stressed that he never meant to hurt
Lionel Messi in Las Palmas' defeat against Barcelona
back in September.

Las Palmas defender Pedro Bigas has insisted that he never had
any intention of injuring Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

The Argentina captain picked up a knee injury after he had a
shot blocked by Bigas in the Catalans' 2-1 La Liga win at Camp
Nou back on September 26.

Messi was consequently ruled out for seven to eight weeks, but
Bigas hopes the 28-year-old will soon be back on the pitch.

"I didn't do it deliberately. I got the ball and he hurt himself
because of the way he took the shot. He's a top player and I
wish him a speedy recovery," Bigas was quoted as saying by
Marca.

"I planned to speak to Messi at the end of the match, but that
never happened because he'd already gone to the hospital to
have some tests.

"I did not realise Messi got injured at the time, but I noticed it
afterwards when there was a break in play. He had bad luck.

"There was impact between the ball, him and me, and he got
injured.

"Mess is one of the best players in the world and I hope he
recovers quickly."