Lionel Messi is set to return to Paris Saint-Germain training on the 2nd or 3rd of January, manager Christophe Galtier has confirmed. The Argentina international was granted a short break to celebrate his nation’s World Cup win earlier this month.
Messi cemented himself as one of the best to have ever graced a football pitch this winter whilst representing Argentina in Qatar, helping them to victory over France in the final. The PSG star was impressive throughout the campaign and rewarded for his efforts with the Player of the Tournament award, scoring seven and assisting three in seven appearances.
As a result, Messi was allowed time to return to Argentina and enjoy the success, and he is expected to return to the Camp des Loges early next week. PSG boss Galtier told the press: “’Leo had a great World Cup, due to his victory and the celebrations over in Argentina, we decided that he was going to stay until January 1.
“He will join us on the 2nd or 3rd to resume competition with us.” Numerous other stars from his side were also away in Qatar, with the likes of Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) and Kylian Mbappe (France) playing for the majority of the tournament like Messi.
Asked when other players will be available to play, with their league match against Strasbourg on Wednesday in mind, Galtier explained: “They are available for the match, regarding Neymar, Marquinhos, Vitinha and the Spaniards, they had 10-12 days off.
“We manage on a case-by-case basis, there are those who were eliminated earlier than expected. They are training normally. [Achraf] Hakimi played all the World Cup matches and wanted to join us as soon as possible.
“Just like Kylian who played all the matches with great performances. After talking with him and all my team, he wanted us to join quickly. It doesn’t mean that there won’t be a time when they will have to recover.”
