Lionel Messi: Barcelona "desperately awaiting" playing return of Luis Suarez

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has backed Luis Suarez to score "a lot of goals" at the club, having finally served his four-month ban.

The Uruguay international was handed the hefty suspension following his bite on Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup, meaning that he has had to wait to make his debut for the Catalan giants since joining from Liverpool in the summer.

Suarez is now free to make his debut in this weekend's El Clasico meeting against Real Madrid, and Messi is looking forward to linking up with the former Reds striker.

"We are desperately awaiting the return of Luis because he will give us a lot of strength as a team," he told FIFA.com. "He is a great striker who will score a lot of goals. I am happy for him because he has spent a lot of time without playing."

Barcelona head into the Bernabeu clash unbeaten in La Liga after eight games.