“He needs help” – Luis Suarez on 4-time Ballon D’Or winner Lionel Messi

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has praised the talents of Lionel Messi and insists that the Argentine will be back on top of the world soon.

Messi has suffered from a couple of injuries this season that have kept him on the sidelines for the majority. He also struggled with his fitness throughout 2013, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to take over the mantel as the world’s best player.

The Argentine had won four Ballon d’Ors on the run but his injury-hit season meant Ronaldo overtook him.

However, Liverpool’s own superstar, Suarez, is confident that his south American counterpart will return to his previous form.

“Messi needs the help of his team-mates,” Suarez said during an interview on the Esports en Xarxa programme on Catalan radio.

“Now, in this delicate moment, his team-mates have to give him a hand. He has done everything for the team for a long time, he gave a lot for the team and now he needs help.

“Messi has recovered from several injuries and once you return, you need some time to return to what you were before.”

Suarez understands the difficulty of returning from injury and claims the mental aspect could continue to hold Messi back.

“In your head, you have the feeling that you can have a problem again, it’s a little bit difficult, but I’m sure that little by little, Messi is going to again be the player everyone knows,” he added.

“Once he sees that he doesn’t have any physical problem, he will be the player he has been before.

“The injuries play in your mind, but once you notice that nothing bad happens, then everything is solved.

“It’s only a matter of time until he starts to play without thinking that he can have another injury.”

Messi has played just 16 games this season and scored 11 goals. After 16 games last season, he’d scored 25 goals.