Lionel Messi played 90 minutes for the first time this season with Barcelona last Wednesday when he helped his team to a return and beat Inter Milan in the Champions League, but the former Barcelona striker Rivaldo sees no need to rush Messi back.
The 32-year-old Argentine has suffered a frustrating season with a foot injury that has reduced his appearances in the starting line-up to just two. This was a major factor in Barcelona's faltering slide to fourth place.
Coach Ernesto Valverde knows how important Messi is to Barcelona and it will be hard to let him on the bench, but Rivaldo says Valverde should not rush Messi's return.
"Lionel Messi is still recovering from an injury and trying to regain his rhythm," Rivaldo said. "But I was happy to see him play a full match for 90 minutes and sacrifice himself for the team, even if he seemed to be 100 percent physically unprepared."
Barca play sixth-placed Sevilla on Sunday with 13 points from seven games, and Messi is likely to make his third appearance in the Primera Liga this season, but Rivaldo is calling for restraint.
"The importance of Messi, which was demonstrated by the victory over Inter Milan, reinforces my view of keeping the player at this stage of his career," said Rivaldo, the former best player in the world.
"He should have a chance to fully recover until he is finally relieved of the pain and remove any fear of playing in a fighting spirit.
"Of course Messi wants to play, but maybe this is the time to take the advice of the medical staff and see if it is a long-term issue after Messi's return from a risky injury.
Rivaldo said that the confrontation between Barcelona and Sevilla came too early, and stressed that the confrontation against Sevilla is difficult, but there are many games in the league throughout the whole season, which is why the preservation of the player may now pay off later by giving Messi several days more rest and recovery after Wednesday's game the past".
Even if Messi plays against Sevilla, he will still have a chance to take advantage of rest days over the next two weeks because of the international suspension.