Argentina vs. Brazil: Messi will play, confirms manager

It has been revealed that Lionel Messi will play for Argentina when they face Brazil in their FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday. Manager Lionel Scaloni confirmed that the captain is fit enough to play, despite having missed two matches for Paris Saint-Germain before the international break.

Before the big match against Brazil, Messi has already logged in about 15 minutes in their 1-0 victory over Uruguay earlier this week. Messi came off the bench and did not play a significant role in the match, but he needed to come on to see how well felt. "Against Uruguay, we decided that Messi would play a few minutes to see how he was and he will play tomorrow. We hope he feels good," said Scaloni on Monday as quoted by AS.

It came as a surprise to PSG when Messi was called up by Argentina for the World Cup qualifiers this month. Last month, he had picked up a knee injury and was still nursing an earlier issue with his hamstring which he incidentally picked up while playing for Argentina. As such, he missed two matches for PSG including a Champions League draw against RB Leipzig.

He flew to Madrid to receive treatment at a regenerative therapy clinic before flying to South America to link up with his national team.

The limited minutes against Uruguay was a precaution, but PSG sporting director Leonardo is still worried that playing against Brazil may end up exacerbating Messi's injuries. If that happens, it means that he might spend another few weeks on the PSG bench, with Argentina continuing to get the best performances out of him this season.

Scaloni has confirmed that he understands the club's position, but he feels that Messi is well enough to play on Tuesday. Should anything untoward happen, PSG will simply be left with the short end of the stick once more just like the previous international break. Needless to say, PSG won't be happy and it remains to be seen if they will make a stand when the next international break comes along.