Lionel Messi will be absent when Paris Saint-Germain face Monaco on Saturday, but coach Christophe Galtier says he will return for next week's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.
Messi joined Neymar in a two-pronged PSG attack for Wednesday's surprise Coupe de France defeat to rivals Marseille, with Kylian Mbappe missing as a result of a hamstring issue.
After PSG announced that injury could rule Mbappe out of the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern, reports suggested Messi was also doubtful after sustaining a similar problem.
However, Galtier eased fears Messi could miss Tuesday's meeting with the Bundesliga giants on Friday, although the World Cup winner is set to sit out PSG's Ligue 1 trip to Monaco.
"Leo has felt muscle fatigue, he will resume training on Monday. He is not uncertain for Bayern," Galtier said at his pre-match press conference.
"We know the importance of Leo to our game. With his absence, we will have to play in a different way to have a more solid, more compact team structure, to use each other.
"Obviously, going to Monaco without Leo is always annoying."
Messi's tally of 29 goal contributions this season (15 goals, 14 assists) is only bettered by three players from Europe's top five leagues, with Manchester City's Erling Haaland (34) leading PSG team-mates Neymar (32) and Mbappe (31).
PSG's reporting of Mbappe's injury has been met with scepticism in Munich, with Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann saying the French club are "playing poker" regarding his availability.
Asked whether he would be prepared to risk Mbappe on Tuesday, Galtier said: "The player's health comes first. I will be very vigilant about the player's health, especially as the season is long.
"Regarding Kylian, the communication has been made. We spoke of a three-week period of unavailability. Kylian is undergoing treatment."
PSG have endured an underwhelming start to 2023, failing to keep a clean sheet in their past four Ligue 1 games and losing two away matches in the league since the turn of the year, only one fewer than they did in the entirety of 2022.
Galtier's men are the only Ligue 1 side yet to win 1,000 duels in the competition this season (998), and he believes they need to be more aggressive to turn their form around.
"The players were very affected in the locker room after the [Marseille] match and yesterday," he said. "You have to avoid long speeches but also show them what did not work.
"When there is so much disappointment, it is useless to get angry. You have to keep a very cool head.
"We are going to have a series against intense teams who impose duels. We will have to respond.
"At the moment, we are not finding this aggressiveness. The players have to make a big effort on the mental aspects to win a lot more duels in the middle."
Xavi commits U-turn and elects to stay at Barcelona
Barcelona head coach Xavi will continue in his role next season after an unexpected reversal of his decision to leave at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, according to widespread reports.
The former Barcelona midfielder announced in January that he would walk away from the job at the end of the current season, even though his contract was due to run until the end of the following term.
Xavi acknowledged the Barcelona role had taken its toll but reportedly changed his plans after a meeting with Blaugrana president Joan Laporta on Wednesday.
The 44-year-old was initially appointed as Barca coach in 2021 before leading the LaLiga giants to the top-flight title in the 2022-23 campaign.
Xavi's initial announcement of his intentions to depart Barcelona came after a tough period following defeats to Girona, Real Madrid and Athletic Club before revealing the news in the aftermath of a 5-3 loss to Villarreal.
The Blaugrana turned their fortunes around after that decision became public, though, going 13 games unbeaten across all competitions.
Unsurprisingly, that run encouraged Laporta, vice president Rafa Yuste and sporting director Deco to plead with Xavi to continue until the end of his agreed contract.
Though that undefeated streak ended with a 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain that dumped Barcelona out of the Champions League quarter-finals, Xavi has now agreed to stay in his role.
The league title is almost out of reach this term, however, as Real Madrid moved 11 points clear of second-placed Barca with Sunday's 3-2 Clasico victory.
PSG close in on Ligue 1 title with 4-1 win at Lorient
Paris Saint-Germain closed in on a record-extending 12th Ligue 1 title as Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe each scored twice in a 4-1 away victory against second-from-bottom Lorient on Wednesday.
Luis Enrique's side will seal the title later on Wednesday if second-placed Monaco fail to beat Lille at home.
PSG are on 69 points with four games left with Monaco trailing by 14 points.
PSG were without the in-form Bradley Barcola, Marquinhos, Achraf Hakimi, Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery who were rested a week before the team's Champions League semi-final first leg against Borussia Dortmund.
The capital side went ahead on 19 minutes as Dembele beat two defenders before slotting the ball past Yvon Mvogo from just inside the box.
Three minutes later, Mbappe connected with a Nuno Mendes cross to double the advantage.
Dembele then put the result beyond doubt on the hour mark when he tapped in from Mbappe's cross.
Mohamed Bamba reduced the arrears in the 73rd minute, but it was too little, too late for a team with 26 points from 30 games.
Mbappe added another one in the last minute with a right-footed effort to take his season tally in the top flight to 26.
Liverpool line up Feyenoord coach Slot as Klopp replacement
Arne Slot appears to be at the front of the queue to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.
Klopp confirmed in January that he would be leaving the Reds at the end of the season.
Xabi Alonso, who has led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, was swiftly established as a leading candidate to take the helm at Anfield, where he starred as a player for the Reds between 2004 and 2009.
The 42-year-old, however, is staying put in Germany, and Liverpool's search for Klopp's successor has taken them to Feyenoord's door.
Slot has been previously linked to jobs in the Premier League. Leeds United wanted to appoint him last season before their relegation to the Championship, while he was targeted by Tottenham before they appointed Ange Postecoglou.
The Dutchman intimated when linked with Spurs: "A normal next step would be to go abroad and I've always said that the best league in the world is the Premier League."
Ideally, Liverpool will be aiming for a coach who can come close to replicating Klopp's style of play, and in particular has a flair for working with and developing young players.
Slot has enjoyed fantastic success in Rotterdam. He became Feyenoord head coach in December 2022, after leaving AZ, and went on to win the Eredivisie title in 2022-23, having reached the Europa League final in the previous season.
The 45-year-old has a 64.4 per cent win record from 146 games in charge, winning 94, drawing 29 and losing just 23.
His Feyenoord team have scored 329 goals, an average of 2.2 per match, conceding 147 in return. Slot's points per game is a hugely impressive 2.13.
Feyenoord are, though, set to relinquish their Eredivisie crown, as they trail leaders PSV by nine points. They have, however, won the KNVB Cup this term.
As there is no break clause in the Dutchman's contract, it has been reported that a compensation fee in the region of €10million (£8.5m) could prise him away from Feyenoord.
Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim is another coach who has been heavily linked with the Liverpool job, albeit he is reportedly in talks with West Ham.
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