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PSG will have to do without their Italian international midfielder Marco Verratti, who has been ruled out for three weeks following a muscular injury. Verratti was excluded during the Champions League loss against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
The 29-year-old Italian last featured in PSG’s 3-1 win over Nantes on the 20th of November. He was returning from a hip injury in that game, and was ruled out for the next few games again.
L’Equipe reports that the European championship winner has suffered a lesion on his quadriceps which has ruled him out of action for another three weeks.
Verratti will be getting a bit frustrated with his injury situation this season, having only been on the pitch eight times for the Parisians this season. He has made just six appearances in Ligue 1 and two in the Champions League for a total of about 601 minutes of football.
The PSG midfielder has also missed out on recent World Cup qualifiers where Italy played against Switzerland and Northern Ireland. The Italians failed to secure their Qatar berth.
Marco Verratti will be hoping to pick up after this set-back and return to full fitness next year. Qualifying and participating in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with Gli Azzurri and European success with PSG are major targets for the midfielder.
Pochettino's hands are tied: Michael Owen speaks about PSG's defeat
The former Real Madrid striker believes Mauricio Pochettino's hands are tied at PSG. Owen thinks so because the Argentine manager cannot drop Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe:
“His (Pochettino’s) hands are tied. He can’t drop Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi. Of course they are good enough but playing like that they won’t win the Champions League.”
PSG lost their return battle at the Etihad Stadium and many pundits were quick to blame the front three for avoiding defensive duties. Messi, Neymar and Mbappe were less than keen on tracking back to aid PSG's defensive play, choosing to sit forward instead.
