That’s despite the Catalan club winning four from four without the Argentine maestro.
Messi was forced off just 26 minutes into a 4-2 win over Sevilla, who were top of the table before their visit to the Nou Camp last month, with a fractured radial bone in his right arm.
That saw him miss a Champions League group stage win at home to Inter Milan, a 5-1 thrashing of rivals Real Madrid and a last-gasp 3-2 away win at Rayo Vallecano last weekend.
But Messi returned to full first-team training last week and has travelled with the Barca squad to Italy for their reverse clash with Inter at San Siro tonight (8pm).
Barca boss Ernesto Valverde has admitted: “Leo is at the point where he could be available but we have to wait. We will not take risks. Of course, it is necessary to get Messi back as soon as possible.”
And with the Catalan club’s talisman and captain nearing a return, the versatile Roberto admits the 31-year-old was sorely missed despite an improved run of form without him.
Speaking to the press yesterday, right-back Roberto said: “Without Leo we aren’t so strong, but we have shown that we are a great team.
“He is happy to be with us again and it’s good for us that he has travelled.
“We were scarred by his absence and it’s normal that it affected a team like ours.
“Luckily we were able to win the games without him and I don’t know if he’s going to play, but we’re happy to have him here.”
Barca needed goals from Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez in the final three minutes to claim a nervy win over Rayo last Saturday.
And Roberto has called for Valverde’s charges to perform to the level they set against Real Madrid the previous weekend.
He added: “The other day [vs Rayo] we started the game very well, but then it was difficult for us to play as we did in the previous matches.
“Against Inter in Milan we must follow the line we did against Real Madrid or Inter at home.
“If we win, we are first in the group and we want to play a good match.
“In the last few years it has been hard for us to win away from home, but at Wembley [against Tottenham] we played a great game and we hope to repeat it.
“We must improve and be self-critical. We are calm, as we are first in La Liga and our Champions League group, but we have to improve in defence.
“All the matches are important, but the tension of matches against Real Madrid or Inter is perhaps different.
“We know that the points against Rayo are equally relevant in the fight for La Liga.”