Lionel Messi has been ruled out of Paris Saint Germain’s match against Montpellier as he has not fully recovered from a bone injury, but manager Mauricio Pochettino expects him to return for his midweek match against Manchester City. Messi suffered an injury to his left knee and an MRI scan earlier this week showed signs of a bone injury. He missed PSG’s match against Metz which resulted in a 2-1 match score on Wednesday.
The 34-year-old Argentine striker, who joined the French club from Barcelona with a two-year football transfer contract in August, will be assessed again on Sunday – ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League home match against City. On Friday PSG head coach Mauricio Pochettino addressed reporters: “Messi started running today… we will evaluate him and we hope he improves.”
“On Sunday, we will be able to give a positive update. We hope everything goes well and will be available again… Yes, we hope he can play (against City). We have to be careful.” Pochettino said the City match will not affect his selection on Saturday, with Angel Di Maria expected to play in the league match he was suspended in the Champions League after his red card from last season’s semi-final against the Premier League side.
Pochettino added, “We will see, there are different options and different systems. We will see who gives the right balance to the team. We also have the flexibility to change. Mauro Icardi is a player who contributed a lot until he got injured. He recovered again and had a big impact. Of course, he gives us an option in our attack.”
PSG midfielder Marco Verratti will return to training on Sunday, while defender Sergio Ramos, who has yet to make his club debut, continues to train in person while recovering from a calf injury.
