Lionel Messi will be available for the Champions League game against Bayern Munich on Tuesday despite being left out of the squad for this weekend’s French league match at Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier said Friday.
Messi strained his hamstring in the 2-1 loss to Marseille on Wednesday in the French Cup.
![Andrés Yossen] Lionel Messi asked Galtier to withdraw from PSG squad starting next weekend. He will be available from 07/11 for Argentina. In Messi's contract he has a priority clause. | Troll Football](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fge2ehCXwAQk228?format=jpg&name=small)
“Leo won´t be available for the Monaco game tomorrow,” Galtier said. “He will resume training on Monday, the day before the game against Bayern Munich. So you can leave the term `doubtful´ aside.”
PSG leads the French league by eight points, but injuries to key players are coming at a critical moment of the season.
France striker Kylian Mbappe tore a muscle in his left thigh against Montpellier on Feb. 1 and will miss the Monaco and Bayern Munich games. Brazil striker Neymar missed two French league games this month because of a groin problem before returning for the French Cup.
PSG was undefeated in all competitions from August to December but the team lost to Lens and Rennes in the league last month before getting knocked out by Marseille in the French Cup.
“We know the importance of Leo in our game,” Galtier said. “Because of his absence, we will maybe have to play differently to have a more solid and more compact team.”
Gerard Pique answers GOAT debate after choosing between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Asked if the GOAT debate is over now after Messi outshone Cristiano Ronaldo by lifting the World Cup in Qatar, Pique responded: “Well, it’s true that the fight between them two in the last decade was quite impressive because both of them did incredibly well.
“I think that in terms of talent, Messi is number one, for sure. It’s true that Cristiano has worked very hard to try and compete and fight for that first spot but if you see the careers of both… I would choose Messi, for sure.
“He showed that even though he’s 35 he can compete as the best player in the world. He showed it in the World Cup.”
Asked if he messaged Messi to congratulate his former teammate on becoming a world champion, Pique said: “Erm… not really. This is crazy but it’s true, I was disconnected from the World Cup. Since my retirement I needed to disconnect from sport, so I didn’t watch any games apart from the final – and not the whole game.
“I tried to disconnect, I went on holiday for a few days. My last few months were tough as a pro and I really needed to disconnect from football.”
SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk, givemesport.com
