Paris Saint-Germain has come out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup break looking sluggish. The capital club squeaked a 2-1 win on Wednesday against Strasbourg, but RC Lens dominated the French giants in their 3-1 loss Sunday.
Both results came with PSG lacking Lionel Messi, who is about to wrap up his vacations, which he took after winning the World Cup in Qatar a few weeks ago.
Nonetheless, the 35-year-old is due to return on Monday and manager Christophe Galtier spoke about having the Argentine back to put in his squad regularly for this second half of the 2022-23 season.
“We will be very happy to welcome him to our home, to the training center,” Galtier told reporters after Sunday’s loss (h/t Canal Supporters). “On the 3rd, that is to say, in 48 hours. Of course, it will be very well received.
“Afterwards, for the welcome at the stadium, I have no doubt that he will be very well received at the Parc. Above all, now that he has achieved this incredible objective, we must remember what he has been doing since the start of the season with the team. He is a decisive player for us. So I have no doubt that it will be very well received.”
While having Messi back in the starting 11 does help offensively, the French giants have issues in their midfield, defense, and bench, as it showed in their 3-1 loss to RC Lens on Sunday at Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
The January window is open to help fix the squad’s flaws, as it would help Messi and Co. reach the ultimate goal of winning the UEFA Champions League this season.