Is Lionel Messi fit to face Manchester City in Champions League clash? Paris Saint-Germain superstar struggling with knee injury

Lionel Messi has only featured in three games for Paris Saint-Germain this season and now attention is on his chances of facing Manchester City in the Champions League this week.

Messi departed his beloved Barcelona to head to Ligue 1 giants PSG in the summer, joining Neymar and Kylian Mbappe to form a formidable front three.

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Messi missed the first two league games of the season due to match fitness issues and has only seen one full game so far.

The 34-year-old has also missed the the last two matches which saw PSG win against Metz and Montpellier.

Now, the Champions League regular has a race against time to be fit enough before Tuesday evening’s mammoth clash against Man City.

How did Lionel Messi get injured?

Messi injured his knee during PSG’s match against Lyon after taking a knock on Sunday, September 19, the club confirmed.

PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino subbed off the star in the 76th minute.

AFP

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He said after the Lyon victory it was due to the player’s ‘well-being’.

A subsequent MRI scan showed bruising to the bone which has seen the six-time Ballon D’Or winner absent for the last two league matches.

When will Lionel Messi be back?

Messi’s only full 90 minutes for PSG came in their Champions League draw with Club Brugge on September 15.

He will now have to prove his fitness ahead of Tuesday evening’s visit of Man City – the huge Group A clash will be live on talkSPORT.

Fitness was an issue at the start of the season for Messi and seems to be a recurring problem now he is also recovering from the knock.

It was reported over the weekend that the Argentine is running again meaning confirmation of his appearance against the Premier League champions will arrive soon.

There was a boost to his return as he was seen training earlier today with the team as their last full training session before the UCL match.

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What’s been said?

Man City centre-back Ruben Dias has said that the team wants to play against Messi.

PSG added Sergio Ramos, Gini Wijnaldum and Gianluigi Donnarruma to their ranks over the summer, so the Citizens could be forgiven for not wanting to face another star this week.

But Dias has said they are relishing the challenge: “Messi is a phenomenal player and as a professional, you want to play against all those sorts of names.

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“But whether it’s Messi, Mbappe, Neymar or [Mauro] Icardi, PSG have amazing strength in depth and no matter who it is we face, it’ll be a tough test. Everyone is looking forward to this game for exactly that reason.”

Pochettino said recently: “On the touchline we are always observing the players, seeing what is happening during the match, and we saw that Leo was looking at his knee.

“We are pleased with the way he played. He played very well in the first half, and the only thing missing was a goal.

“He played for 76 minutes and with all the information we had we decided to take him off.

“Of course I understand the situation and I accept it as it is.

After signing one of the best players in the world it was surprising for some to see Messi subbed, but the boss said: “It is not a surprise for me, but the priority is always the well-being of the player and in this case we thought it was the best thing for him to take him off.

“All great champions always want to be on the pitch and that is understandable.”