Injured Lionel Messi is available for Sunday’s Ligue 1 match against Marseille for French champion Paris Saint-Germain.
What Happened? The calf injury that kept the Argentina international out of PSG’s last two matches has healed. Messi’s inclusion in the PSG squad for the Classique match against Marseille at Parc des Princes was officially announced via social media when PSG posted a photo of his shirt hanging in their locker room.
He was subsequently included in Christophe Galtier’s starting lineup, and he will want to improve to his Ligue 1 totals of five goals and seven assists in 2022–23.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: After a difficult week for the Parisiens, Messi’s comeback will be a huge boost for PSG. The revelation that superstar Kylian Mbappe wants to quit the club has overshadowed the match’s build-up. In addition, PSG has had to refute accusations that they hired a third party to start a smear campaign against the striker.
ARE YOU AWARE? Exactly 18 years to the day after making his La Liga debut for Barcelona, Messi will take the field against Marseille.
WHAT WILL MESSI DO NEXT? Against Marseille, PSG will try to keep up its unblemished start to the year. The reigning champions then travel to Ajaccio for Ligue 1 on Friday.
