The list of absentees is only growing. For the poster for the 20th day of Ligue 1, the Lyon – PSG shock, the capital club will have to count without Lionel Messi, insufficiently recovered from his Covid-19 contamination.
The announcement of the Argentinian’s package was made by the Parisian club this Saturday. He invokes a lack of form to be able to participate in the meeting on Sunday, at 8:45 p.m. The attacker “will continue his post-Covid individual recovery protocol during the coming days,” PSG said in a statement, while “the Pulga” has still not resumed collective training at Camp des Loges.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or, who returned to France last Wednesday, contracted the virus during the winter break and his trip to Argentina. An absence which is added to those, again due to contamination, of Angel Di Maria, Julian Draxler, Danilo Pereira, Layvin Kurzawa and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Not to mention the players selected for the African Cup of Nations, namely defenders Achraf Hakimi and Abdou Diallo, as well as midfielder Idrissa Gueye. Finally, to this list is added the other big package, this time for an injury to the left ankle, of Neymar. With a player ready, PSG could therefore have constituted its 11 type of absent players.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino will therefore once again have to rely on the current great form of Kylian Mbappé to overcome OL. Only 13th in the standings, the Rhone club had folded only at the very end of the game during the first leg (2-1), and has an imperative need for victory, pointing 9 points from the podium.