Injured Messi out of PSG vs Benfica Champions League clash

Paris Saint-Germain look almost certain to be without key man Lionel Messi for Tuesday’s Champions League game against Benfica after the Argentinian failed to train with the rest of the squad on Monday.

Unless he makes a miraculous recovery in the next 24 hours or so, the calf injury Messi suffered in the reverse fixture in Lisbon last week is set to keep him on the sidelines for a second successive match. The ex-Barcelona schemer was forced to sit out PSG’s weekend Ligue 1 clash with Reims, in which the French champions toiled to a goalless draw following the first-half sending off of Sergio Ramos.

Head coach Christophe Galtier initially put Messi’s withdrawal from the game in Portugal down to muscle fatigue but a scan done on Friday has since revealed that the Argentina captain had in fact suffered a muscle contraction.

While not a serious injury, the World Cup is just over a month away and Messi will be keen to avoid taking any risks, even in vital games such as the one against Benfica. PSG are level on points with the Portuguese club in their Champions League group and, having not been in great form in the last few matches, could use Messi’s magic on the field.

But the upcoming World Cup is not just any World Cup. In an interview on Argentinian TV last week, Messi confirmed that this will be his last participation in the world’s biggest soccer tournament.

“This will be my last World Cup, for sure. The decision has been made. I’m counting down the days until the World Cup. On the one hand, I can’t wait for it to arrive but I’m also really desperate for it to go well.”

Messi has had huge individual and club success in the game, winning a record seven Ballon d’Ors, LaLiga on 10 occasions and the Champions League four times, amongst other honours. But international success eluded him for many years, with his only international trophy coming in last year’s Copa América, a tournament in which he had previous lost in three finals.

Argentina were also defeated in the 2014 World Cup final and Qatar in 2022 is the last chance for Messi to finally go one better. It would be some way to bow out, provided he gets through the next five-and-a-half weeks unscathed.