
Itgets bad to worse for Paris Saint-Germain. Argentine superstar Lionel Messi is in doubt for his club's UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie against Bayern Munich next week.
Messi picked up a hamstring injury during PSG's 2-1 defeat against Marseille in the Coupe de France trophy. He felt a niggle in his hamstring after playing the full 90 minutes.
The Parisian side will be hoping that Messi recovers in time, having already lost their main man Kylian Mbappe for the knockout game.He has already been ruled out of PSG's weekend trip to Monaco in Ligue 1.
Messi had a scintillating 2022 where he ended the year by winning the FIFA World Cup - the only trophy missing from his prized cabinet. As for Paris, the Argentine has scored 15 goals in 25 games in all competitions.
Earlier this month, it was French forward Mbappe that suffered a thigh injury during his side's 3-1 victory against Montpellier. Mbappe missed two penalties in the game and later hobbled off with the injury.
Coach Christophe Galtier initially suggested that it was knock to the back that sidelined Mbappe before the scans revealed the real extent of the injury.
PSG are wading in choppy waters at the moment. While their two superstars are out, the bench of Marco Verratti, Sergio Ramos and Neymar has only returned to the fold and is yet to hit their straps fully.
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This is not the first instance that PSG has been plagued by a series of injuries prior to a high-profile UCL contest. In 2018, afractured metatarsal prevented their Brazilian forwardNeymar from participating in the last-16 defeat to Madrid. A year later, another injury ruled him out of their loss to Manchester United at the same stage.
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With Bayern playing an exquisite brand of football under Julian Nagelsmann, PSG's bench strength will have to come through to stand any chance in the all-important first tie.
(With inputs from agencies)
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