When are Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe back at PSG from the World Cup?

PSG are one of the teams that will suffer the most until all of their players are back from the World Cup. Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, on top of everything, reached the final in Qatar. When are they expected back?

PSG superstars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe brought down the World Cup curtain last Sunday in impressive fashion.

The World Cup final, pitting Argentina and France against each other, wasn't an exciting one until Mbappe decided to make things interesting by the 80th minute with France drawing Argentina 2-2 at the end of regulation.

Two more goals, one coming from each side, would make it 3-3 at the end of overtime and into the penalties, where it was Messi who finally lift the World Cup. It is Argentina's third triumph at the World Cup, and Messi's first ever.

It was, also, one of (if not the) the greatest World Cup finals ever played.

Will Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe be available for PSG against Strasbourg on December 28th?

After the World Cup final between France and Argentina, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi will enjoy a few days off.

This goes hand in hand with the early reports coming from PSG informing about coach Christophe Galtier giving his World Cup players a 10-day vacation period before returning to the training ground.

Having lost the World Cup final, Mbappe is reportedly eager to come back to Paris to start playing and winning games again.

On the other hand, Argentina's Lionel Messi will probably take more time to properly recover and get back to fitness after spending time in his country celebrating the World Cup victory with his teammates.

According to Le Parisien, both Messi and Mbappe might miss all games until mid-January. That means they won't be able to face Strasbourg (Dec. 28) and RC Lens (Jan. 1) in the return of the Ligue 1 over the next two weeks.

The French newspaper also discusses the possibility of Mbappe and Messi returning on different dates. Remember that Mbappe just turned 24 years old on Dec. 20 compared to Messi's 35 years of age.

The ultimate decision of when they play will come down to Christophe Galtier, and both players will be allowed to stay away from Paris until Dec. 28 if they want to, considering the 10-day permission they have been given.

PSG has taken a player-by-player approach and will study the fitness and mental status of all returning World Cup participants differently to not risk injuries at the start of the second half of the season.

Lionel Messi is expected to make a gradual return to the pitch once he's back with PSG, which means that he might only play a part-time role in the first matches of the new year, whether that is starting games and then getting subbed off, or coming to the pitch from the bench.

PSG already had all of their (fit) internationals from Portugal (Vitinha), Costa Rica (Keylor Navas), and Spain (Carlos Soler and Fabian Ruiz) available and training at Camp des Loges on Monday, as we reported yesterday.