Paris Saint-Germain have revealed that Lionel Messi has sustained a knee injury ahead of their clash with Manchester City.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner sustained a knock to his left knee during Sunday’s last-gasp 2-1 win over Lyon that mantained PSG’s 100 per cent start to the 2021/22 campaign and their place at the top of Ligue 1.
Messi - who was visibly frustrated at being substituted by Mauricio Pochettino in the 76th minute of that contest and appeared to snub an attempted handshake from his manager - subsequently underwent an MRI scan on Tuesday morning, which revealed bruising of the bone.
PSG’s headline summer arrival is set to have a follow-up examination in the next 48 hours and will miss Wednesday’s trip to bottom club Metz, though it is not clear at this stage how much time he will need to spend on the sidelines.
Pochettino’s side host Montpellier at the Parc des Princes on Saturday and will be desperate to have Messi fit for their huge Champions League Group A showdown with Manchester City in Paris next Tuesday night.
Defending his decision to substitute Messi against Lyon, Pochettino said on Sunday: “Everyone knows we have great players in the squad, we have 35 players. But we must make decisions for the good of the team. Sometimes they lead to a positive result and sometimes not.
“These are decisions we need to take. Sometimes it pleases people, or it doesn’t. I asked him how he was, and he said he was fine.”
