Lionel Messi will miss Paris Saint-Germain’s game away from Metz on Wednesday due to a knee injury, which coach Mauricio Pochettino has said was due to his surprise decision to pick up the six-time Ballon d’Or winner against Lyon over the weekend. There was a real reason behind it. . The Argentine star underwent an MRI on Tuesday after he injured his left knee during Sunday’s 2-1 win. The results showed signs of bone injury, the club said in a statement. Messi was replaced by Achraf Hakimi, a full-back, after 76 minutes against Lyon, in his first home appearance as a PSG player since his arrival from Barcelona.
The 34-year-old appeared to disapprove of Pochettino’s hand as he walked from his coach to the Paris bench, but the former Tottenham Hotspur boss later defended his decision to remove Messi without mentioning the injury.
On Tuesday, he admitted that it was Messi’s fitness that made him change with the level of the score at that time.
“We are always watching the players on the touchline to see what’s going on during the match and we saw Leo looking at his knee,” Pochettino told reporters.
“We are happy 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 decided to take him down,” Pochettino said.
“Of course I understand the situation and I accept it as it is.
– ‘The best thing for him’ –
“It doesn’t come as a surprise to me, but the priority is always the player’s well being and in this case we thought it was the best thing for him to land him.
“All great champions always want to be on the pitch and that’s understandable.”
Mauro Icardi’s stoppage-time headed goal secured a win for PSG against Lyon, giving them six out of six wins in Ligue 1 this season and five points away from already second-placed Marseille, even though He must have played one game more.
He will be expected to keep his run away from Metz’ side who are winless and move up the division, although Pochettino can turn his squad around heavily.
PSG are at home to Montpellier over the weekend, when it remains to be seen whether Messi will return. They will then host Manchester City in the Champions League next Tuesday, 28 September.
“We have a squad of 35 players. They all deserve to play but there’s not enough space,” admitted Pochettino.
The Argentine manager has also been criticized for the way his All-Star team played against Lyon and last week’s 1-1 draw at Club Brugge in the Champions League.
Those were the first two matches Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe all played together, but Pochettino says they need time to articulate their ideas.
“In general, in the past, in normal times, you used to have six or seven weeks in the pre-season, a lot of friendly matches to work things out.
“Now we need to try things out during the games. It’s not a position we like much but we have to get used to it.”
France has a full round of games on Wednesday, with Marseille aiming to continue their unbeaten start at Angers.
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