Messi did not play against Monaco, will the Argentine be available for the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers?

Everything that revolves around Lionel Messi is watched with a thousand eyes. That is why his second consecutive absence at PSG not only set off the alarm bells at the Parisian club but also in Argentina, which is waiting for him for the next qualifiers for Qatar 2022, a date for which the national team coached by Lionel Scaloni has already booked a ticket.

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His absence from training on Friday and Saturday left the Rosarino's presence in Sunday's match against Monaco in doubt. Mauricio Pochettino, during the pre-match press conference, did not give further details about the No. 30's state of health, but hours later came the confirmation of his absence, as he was not included in the squad for the clash. 

Why didn't Messi play?

The club informed that Messi has the flu, with possibly a feverish state. In these cases, COVID-19 is not ruled out either. There is also certain tranquility in Paris since the club has not registered any contagion in the last hours.

If he had been infected, it would be the second time for Messi: during his stay in Argentina to celebrate the holidays, he had to isolate himself from the rest of his family. As he admitted, overcoming the virus took him "more time than I thought".

Will Messi be with Argentina for the World Cup qualifiers in March?

This also casts doubt on his place among the national team's call-ups, where he leads the 33 called-up players chosen by Scaloni. After being rested in the recent double-header against Chile (2-1 win) and Colombia (1-0), Messi is expected to return to the Argentine jersey next week. So far, he has played in 13 of the 15 qualifying matches and is the team's second top scorer with six goals, behind Lautaro Martinez's seven. 

PSG lost without Messi against Monaco

Paris Saint-Germain once again fell asleep and were thrashed away to Monaco, who gave them a good account of themselves and prevented Mbappé and company from showing their best side. PSG have now lost four of their last six matches.

With two goals from Ben Yedder and one from Kevin Volland, the Monaco side thrashed Pochettino's side, who seem to have lost their winning ways since their elimination from the Champions League. 

Nevertheless, PSG is the leader of Ligue 1 with 65 points after 29 matches played. Their closest pursuers are Stade Rennais with 52 points and the same number of matches played. That's a 13-point gap that is unlikely to slip away from Mbappé and his team.

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