Messi resumes training with PSG after suspension

PARIS - Argentine star Lionel Messi returned to training on Monday after being suspended by Paris Saint-Germain for his trip to Saudi Arabia without the club's permission.

"Leo Messi back in training this Monday morning," PSG wrote on social media, also posting a picture of Messi on the training ground.

Messi, who had played in PSG's 3-1 home defeat to Lorient in Ligue 1 on April 30, wasn't present at the team's training session the following day as he traveled to Saudi Arabia to attend a commercial activity as a tourism ambassador, resulting in his two-week suspension with "no training, no match, and no salary," as French media reported.

Messi later apologized to the club and his teammates. With Monday's announcement of Messi's return, he is likely available for PSG's next league game against Ajaccio on Saturday.

Arriving in Paris as a free agent in 2021, the 35-year-old FIFA World Cup winner scored 31 goals and registered 34 assists in 71 appearances.