Lionel Messi named in PG squad for Lille clash after injury scare

Lionel Messi has been named in Paris Saint-Germain's squad for Friday's Ligue 1 clash with Lille despite initial concerns over his fitness.

The ex-Barcelona man played the full 90 minutes in Le Classique last weekend but was unable to train fully on Thursday after suffering a minor muscular injury.

Mauricio Pochettino could not guarantee that Messi would be available for the visit of the champions, but the 34-year-old appears to have shaken off the issue after being named in the Parisiens squad.

A squad of 2️⃣2️⃣ Parisians 🔴🔵 for the visit of @LOSC_EN at the 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 tonight 🏟#PSGLOSC

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) October 29, 2021

Messi will be out to score his first Ligue 1 goal for PSG at the fifth attempt versus Les Dogues, although he has struck three goals from as many games in the Champions League for his new club.

Kylian Mbappe, Marco Verratti, Sergio Ramos and Leandro Paredes are all absent for Friday's game, but Ander Herrera has been included despite recent reports claiming that he was the victim of a recent robbery in Paris.