When Lionel Messi fractured his arm in the 4-2 win against Sevilla, Barcelona-based sports paper Mundo Deportivo ran a poll asking their readers which player should start for the Catalans in the Argentine’s absence. Perhaps surprisingly, Malcom was the clear winner.
The Brazilian summer signing had, at that point, played for just 25 minutes this term under Ernesto Valverde: six versus Valladolid and 19 against Leganes. The fans, clearly, were keen to see more of him, but he did not feature in either of the two big games right after Messi’s injury: at home to Inter Milan and then the Clasico clash with Real Madrid at Camp Nou.
On Wednesday night, he was back on the pitch and played for 80 minutes away to Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey. His performance, however, was erratic and although he is a hard worker, he remains raw. He showed glimpses of his quality, but little more. And by the time Clement Lenglet headed home the winner late on, he was already off the pitch.
Earlier on Wednesday, Messi had returned to training. The 31-year-old was expected to be out for three weeks, yet joined up with his team-mates for the session just 11 days after his injury.
However, neither he nor Malcom will play any part against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Saturday night. The Brazilian was not included in the squad for this weekend's game in Madrid, with the Argentine also missing out as he continues his recovery.
“Messi’s problem is with his arm,” Valverde said on Friday. “So it’s normal he should come back to maintain form, but we need to be careful. We are going to wait. It has only been two weeks.”
The Argentine could be back for the Champions League clash away to Inter on Tuesday, but Malcom’s chances of featuring in the big games for Barca seem small at the moment.
The Brazilian, signed for €41m from Bordeaux after Roma looked to have tied up a deal, has seen his opportunities limited by the fact that he is essentially an understudy to Ousmane Dembele. And the French forward has not been starting in La Liga or the Champions League lately.
Valverde was asked on Friday in the pre-match press conference if leaving Malcom out of the matchday squad for this weekend was a message to the forward, but said it was "a message to [Carles] Alena" after the midfielder took his chance in Leon on Wednesday and was included for the trip to face Rayo in Madrid.
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Malcom will now have to wait for another opportunity to impress his coach and Messi’s imminent return will make that even more difficult for the young winger.
At 21, however, time is on his side and like Dembele, he may have to wait until his second season for his breakthrough at the Catalan club.
