Barcelona have been given a boost, with Lionel Messi stepping up his recovery from injury.

Messi missed Barcelona’s pre-season as well as their first game of the campaign – a 1-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao – owing to a calf strain.

However, in a video posted by SportBible, the Argentine star was seen undertaking running, shooting and strength drills on sand as he edges closer to a return.

The 32-year-old practised kicking the ball to a trainer, while he also tested his shooting technique by hitting balls that had been placed on top of cones into a goal.