PSG vs Brest, Messi and Neymar Definitely Absent

Photo: Instagram.com/@leomessi

JAKARTA - Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star duo, Lionel Messi and Neymar are confirmed to be absent against Brest in the 2021/2022 French League continued match on Sunday, January 16, early in the morning. PSG coach, Mauricio Pochettino, said the two names were not present because their conditions did not allow it.

"Neymar is still recovering, Leo Messi is also not available. Hopefully, he can join the team as soon as possible. Monitoring (Messi's condition) is carried out every day," said the coach quoted from the club website.

Previously, Lionel Messi was exposed to COVID-19 at the end of 2021. Messi also missed PSG's match against Vannes in the French Cup on January 4 and did not play against Olympique Lyon in the French league.

But now the star has been declared recovered. He only had to undergo a period of recovery until his condition was really good. Messi is now even in Paris and is expected to feature in the next match against Reims on 24 January.

Meanwhile, Neymar is also ruled out due to the ankle injury he sustained at the end of November. The injury means he is also not included in Brazil's squad for the South American Zone World Cup qualifiers announced on Thursday 13 January.

On the other hand, on Monday 17 January, Messi will also compete with Robert Lewandowski from Poland and Mohamed Salah from Egypt to win the FIFA Best Player award at the Best FIFA Football Awards 2021 which will take place online from Zurich, Switzerland.