Lionel Messi ‘will be in PSG squad’ for Man City clash after injury scare, says manager Mauricio Pochettino
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN boss Mauricio Pochettino has revealed Lionel Messi will be in the club’s squad to face Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The 34-year-old has missed the last two clashes against Metz and Montpellier after suffering a bone contusion on his right knee.
But former Tottenham gaffer Pochettino has insisted he is recovering well ahead of tomorrow’s clash, though being named in the starting XI may come too soon for him.
Speaking in Monday’s pre-match press conference, he said: “We will wait until tomorrow to confirm who will participate.
“Can I confirm Messi will be there on Tuesday?
“I never confirm the team the day before. It’s something we will see tomorrow.
“Leo is a bit like Marco Verratti. He’s progressing very well. I think he will be in the squad.
“But I still have not decided the starting XI.”
Most read in football
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN NEW CUSTOMER DEALS
Messi is yet to score or provide an assist from his three outings for Les Parisiens following his summer arrival.
And ex-Liverpool striker Michael Owen believes that PSG are a WEAKER side with him in the line-up.
Pochettino has admitted the the French outfit, who have won all eight of their Ligue 1 fixtures so far, are still adjusting to having Messi as part of their squad.
He remarked: “It is a fact, not an opinion, that we are a work in progress.
“There needs to be some common sense. That is not up for debate.”
Before adding: “He did 20 years in Barcelona, it’s normal he felt at home there and here, everything is new for him.
“He did not arrive a long time ago.”