Will Injured Lionel Messi Return For PSG Vs Marseille? Here's A Crucial Update

Lionel Messi is reportedly recovering well from the calf injury that saw him last two games of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

Messi picked up the calf injury last week during PSG's trip to Portugal to take on Benfica in the Champions League. Messi put PSG 1-0 up Estádio da Luz before a Danilo Pereira own goal drew the game for the hosts.

Even though he has not recovered 100% yet, the Argentinian forward is taking good care of himself and getting better by the day, French outlet RMC Sport reported. PSG's staff is hopeful of playing Messi in their upcoming Ligue 1 meeting with Olympique de Marseille on Sunday.

However, the final decision about Messi's availability for the game will be made on Saturday during the final training session behind closed doors.

The game against Marseille is a crucial one for the defending champions as these opponents are just three points behind them in the 2022-23 Ligue 1.

Before missing the trip to Reims, Messi contributed to PSG's goals in their previous five matches across competitions, scoring and assisting against Israeli club Maccabi Haifa and a goal against Benfica in the Champions League, and in Ligue 1, an assist against French club Brest, and a goal each in PSG's wins over Lyon and Nice.

In 13 appearances, in all competitions, for PSG in the underway season, Messi has netted eight goals and provided assists for eight more.

Last week in Lisbon, not only did PSG not earn three points but also suffered a setback in terms of Messi's injury. The in-form forward did not feature in PSG's trip to Reims and their reverse fixture against Benfica at home. In fact, the away Ligue 1 match against Reims was PSG's first game of the season without Messi, which ended in a goalless draw.

Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring for PSG against Benfica at Parc des Princes before Benfica's Joao Mario pulled one back for the visiting side. However, Messi-less PSG failed to score a winner.

Ahead of their reverse fixture against Benfica at home earlier this week, PSG boss Christophe Galtier spoke about Messi's importance in his side.

"We know the importance of Leo in our game, his form and the connection he can have with other players. We can't be happy about his absence. We must have other options. We need to be able to play down both sides. When Messi plays, we play a lot down the middle. We've been working hard on distribution to bring more variety in our attack," Galtier told reporters.