CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A small piece of metal in his eye, and not a sinus infection, caused Denny Hamlin to miss last weeks race at California. Hamlin was not medically cleared to race last Sunday by doctors in the infield care centre at Auto Club Speedway. He had visited the care centre on Saturday and Sunday complaining of an irritation to his eye, and it was determined at the track that it was related to a recent sinus infection Hamlin had suffered. Hamlin was referred to a local hospital for further evaluation, and once there, "a small piece of metal was found to be in Hamlins eye," Joe Gibbs Racing said in a statement Wednesday. The metal was removed and JGR said "Hamlin felt immediate improvement." By then, the race at Fontana had already started and replacement driver Sam Hornish Jr. was behind the wheel of Hamlins No. 11 Toyota. Hamlin underwent further testing in California before he was cleared to fly home to North Carolina. He was evaluated in Charlotte on Monday and again on Wednesday, when it was determined he had no lingering issues with his vision and is cleared to race this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin has four career victories at Martinsville and an average finish of eighth. The timeline of Hamlins diagnosis and revelation it was a piece of metal in his eye and not a sinus infection comes a day after Dale Earnhardt Jr. called on NASCAR to release information regarding Hamlin not being cleared to race at California. Earnhardt, during an appearance Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, questioned why there had been no official NASCAR statement or further explanation from Hamlin on what happened. He was particularly interested because it is so unusual for a driver to be parked shortly before a race is about to begin. "Im worried the perception is bad for NASCAR and the perception is bad for Denny," Earnhardt said. "If Denny didnt race because his vision is blurred and he had a sinus infection, NASCAR should put out a release and say, This is the timeline of the events and this is why we made this choice and this is the protocol for going forward. "That answers everybodys questions. Dont you have questions? I have questions. We shouldnt have questions. We should all feel pretty comfortable with what happened." Earnhardt missed two races in 2012 after he suffered his second concussion in six weeks. He drove for weeks following the first concussion, which occurred while testing at Kansas Speedway. He was cleared to drive following that crash, and the concussion was discovered after he wrecked again at Talladega. "If Denny did everything right, thats good to know," he said. "Why NASCAR did the things they did and the timeline, it would be good to know those things because the drivers are all curious and the fans are curious. Information is moving around. It just doesnt need to be going on. 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Evgeni Malkins dominance of the hockey world reached historical proportions Saturday with a signature performance in the semifinals of the IIHF World Hockey Championship.GENEVA -- Lionel Messi was Barcelonas goal maker and Robin van Persie was Manchester Uniteds goal taker as the star forwards shone in Champions League victories Tuesday. Messi created chances for Alexis Sanchez to score in the sixth minute and Cesc Fabregas in the 55th for a 2-0 win away to Benfica. Barcelonas comfortable night was tarnished late on as the four-time champion lost captain Carles Puyol who dislocated his left elbow after landing awkwardly. Midfielder Sergio Busquets was then shown a straight red card for lunging into challenges too aggressively. Van Persie scored with a fortunate finish in the 29th and a classy shot in the 49th, helping Man United come from behind to beat CFR Cluj 2-1 in Romania. "Wayne (Rooney) gave me the good pass, so I have to thank him," Van Persie said of his teammates vision to create the winning goal. "Not many players can give a pass like that." Defending champion Chelsea beat Nordsjaelland 4-0 in Denmark, and shares Group E leadership on with Shakhtar Donetsk which drew 1-1 away to Juventus. Bayern Munich, the beaten finalist last season, lost 3-1 to BATE Borisov in Belarus, Valencia beat Lille 2-0, and Braga won 2-0 at Galatasaray. In the early kickoff in Barcelonas group, Celtic scored a 90th-minute goal to win 3-2 at Spartak Moscow which led in the second half before having defender Juan Manuel Insaurralde sent off. Messi has started the season in sparkling form in Spain, and the Argentina forward was a creative force at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon. The Argentina forward hit a fierce low cross from the left that Sanchez poked in from close range, and was denied by a smart low save by Benfica goalkeeper Artur in the 22nd. Messi helped ensure victory when, after luring a group of defenders toward him, he laid off a pass to Fabregas in space to fire a left-foot shot into the net. Puyol was carried off on a stretcher when he falling heavily on his left arm after leaping to meet a corner in the Benfica penalty area in the 75th. Barcelona leads Group G with six points, two clear of Celtic which it plays next in Spain in three weeks time.dddddddddddd Celtic led in the first half through Gary Hooper, but fell behind to two goals from Spartaks Nigerian forward Emmanuel Emenike. With a player advantage, the Scottish champion levelled with an own goal by Dmitry Kombarov then won through a Georgios Samaras header. "They were magnificent and they played magnificent football at a very tough venue against an excellent side," Celtic manager Neil Lennon said. Man United trailed to a 14th-minute shot from Pantelis Kapetanos for Cluj, but turned around the match when Van Persie converted crosses by Wayne Rooney. The Dutchman was perhaps lucky when an attempted header looped off his right shoulder and into the net, though his second goal was a deft first-time volley from Rooneys chipped pass. Man United has a maximum six points, three ahead of Cluj and Braga, which scored goals through Ruben Micael and Osorio Alan in Turkey. Chelsea was flattered by the margin of its victory after the Danish champions began the game brightly. Juan Mata scored in the 31st and David Luiz lashed in a free kick in the 79th to ease nerves. Mata and Ramires added late goals. "Until the 75th minute, we played tremendously. After that we stopped," Nordsjaelland coach Kasper Hjulmand said. Chelsea, which drew at home to Juventus last month, has four points along with Shakhtar, which led in Turin through Alex Teixeira in the 23rd. Two minutes later, Leonardo Bonucci levelled. BATE stunned Bayern to take control of Group F with its second straight 3-1 win, after beating Lille last month. The Belarus champion scored through Aleksandr Pavlov in the 23rd minute and Vitali Rodionov netted the second in the 78th. Bayern got a stoppage-time goal from Franck Ribery but Renan Bressan then sealed the win. "We always believed that we could win this match," BATE forward Aleksandr Hleb said. "We were confident even after we conceded the late goal." Valencias Jonas scored in each half Jonas against Lille, which had defender Mathieu Debuchy sent off. ' ' '