Messi, Neymar or Mbappe? PSG confirm one player among superstar trio will miss Montpellier game

Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have confirmed that Neymar will not join his strike partners Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe for the trip to Montpellier. The Brazil international has a muscular problem and will remain under treatment in Paris.

Despite starting with their fearsome front three of Messi, Mbappe and Neymar, PSG were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Stade Reims on 29 January. While Messi and Mbappe were below their best, the Brazilian star led by example, scoring his team’s only goal, creating three chances and winning seven ground duels.

Having played his best game since the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the ex-Santos man was expected to build upon it in Wednesday’s (1 February) clash at Montpellier. The club, however, shared a disappointing update ahead of the trip, confirming that he would play no part at Stade de la Mosson.

Kylian Mbappé’s reaction to Neymar’s free kick during warmup 😅

(via @PVSportFR)
https://t.co/wOQX7QUe4g

Via their official website, Les Parisiens informed:

“Neymar Jr has muscle fatigue and will remain in treatment today.”

The PSG trident has fired on all cylinders in the 2022-23 season. Halfway through the 2022-23 campaign, they have a staggering 55 goals between them.

Former PSG skipper believes Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe’s presence detrimental to potential attacking recruits

The Parisians lost Pablo Sarabia to Wolverhampton Wanderers last week. Christophe Galtier’s side are eager to fill the gap left by Sarabia with a new recruit by the end of deadline day (31 January).

According to sources, Olympique Lyon’s Rayan Cherki was PSG’s primary target. However, with his transfer looking unattainable, they have turned their attention to St. Zenit Petersburg ace Malcom.

🚨 PSG will check the situation of Zenit's 25-year-old Brazilian player Malcom.
🇧🇷 🔴 #PSG 🔵 #Zenit twitter.com/Ekremkonur/sta… https://t.co/j9eVOo0fEW

On Canal+, former skipper Christophe Jallet gave his two cents on the potential transfer, admitting that it did not make any sense to him.

Jallet said:

“I can't understand this type of recruitment, since in any case these are players who are not going to play. That is to say that potentially, they will play matches that no one wants to play in Paris, because otherwise the three in front (Neymar, Messi and Mbappe), we know them…”

Malcom, who is familiar with Ligue 1 thanks to his time with Bordeaux, has played 23 games for Zenit this season across competitions, scoring 15 times and claiming seven assists.