Lionel Messi claimed the seventh Ballon d’Or of his remarkable career on Monday, and the Paris Saint-Germain superstar will show off his latest honour in this week’s Ligue 1 game despite struggling with a stomach bug.
The Argentine superstar collected another Golden Ball at a glitzy awards show on Monday and is set to feature against Nice despite having felt ill
The iconic Argentine appeared to be in good health when extending his record-setting achievements, with a star-studded ceremony in the French capital seeing him take first prize once again.
After feeling under the weather after landing another Ballon d’Or, Messi was doubtful for the clash with Nice on Wednesday although GOAL can now confirm that he will play.
In a fitness update released on the club’s official website on Tuesday, PSG said: “Lionel Messi and Leandro Paredes did not participate in the training session today due to symptoms of gastroenteritis. A further check will be made tomorrow morning.”
However, Soccanews can now confirm Messi has recovered enough to be available for selection on Wednesday, and will show off his trophy to the crowd before the match.
“He had an upset stomach on Tuesday,” a source told GOAL of Messi. “He will be there [against Nice] but maybe not feeling 100%” .
While Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping that Messi recovers in time to take to the field at Parc des Princes, he will be without a number of other senior stars.
It has been revealed that Brazil international Neymar will be missing for up to eight weeks after suffering ankle ligament damage during his last outing for PSG.
Julian Draxler is also sidelined at present, with the German forward still a couple of weeks away from making a return to action, while Ander Herrera will return to training ahead of a meeting with Lens on Saturday.
Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum should also come back into contention by then, while Argentine striker Mauro Icardi is ready to fill in for Messi if required after resuming full training on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi, Ballon d’Or 2021
Messi has been recognised as the best player on the planet, but that success owed plenty to his Copa del Rey triumph at Barcelona last season and a Copa America win with Argentina over the summer.
The 34-year-old has registered just one Ligue 1 goal so far in 2021-22 and four efforts in all competitions, with spells out of action through injury and illness stunting his progress.