The Barcelona manager, Pep Guardiola, said today that he was confident that midfielder Xavi Hernández would play in the World Cup finals in South Africa, despite the fact that he has been nursing a muscle injury in the last few league matches.

"Don't worry, Xavi will be in the World Cup finals," he told the press today, adding,  "I want Xavi to play in the World Cup.  If he thought he was risking his place in the World Cup, he wouldn't be playing".

The Barça midfielder has been doing only light training for the past few days because of a tear in the soleus muscle in his left calf.  Neverthless, he played against Villarreal on Saturday and is almost certain to play against Tenerife tomorrow.

Guardiola made it clear that it was Xavi's decision to keep playing for the last few matches of the season, to make sure that his team won the Liga title.  "He knows his body better than anyone and he says he's OK to play," he concluded.