Leo Messi is shaky, but lives on. In Lake Town, and still in contention for a World Cup spot.

A 70-foot statue of the Argentine football legend in Lake Town was found to be “unsafe” by engineers of the state public works department after an inspection on Monday.

“The statue will be removed,” a senior state government official had said.

But removal has proved easier said than done, engineers found.

Sharadwat Mukherjee, the new BJP MLA of Bidhannagar, who noticed the statue swaying in the wind, said the PWD “does not have the means” to dismantle it.

“I raised the issue with the state municipal affairs minister, who then took it up with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL). It has been decided that the two agencies will install support around the statue immediately so it doesn’t collapse and injure people,” Mukherjee told Metro on Tuesday evening.

RVNL, a central government PSU, is currently executing Metro rail projects in several parts of the city.

“The harnessing will be completed by Tuesday or Wednesday. How to remove the statue will be planned later. Our first objective is to prevent the possibility of injury to pedestrians,” he said.

Messi’s World Cup prospects had also looked uncertain when he limped off clutching his left hamstring while playing for Inter Miami on Sunday. He left the field in the 73rd minute after taking a free kick.

The moment sent shivers across the football world, raising questions over whether he would be fit for the quadrennial tournament.

His club later issued a statement saying no major injury had been detected, but fans are on tenterhooks. Argentina’s supporters insist the team needs Messi for its title defence.

Whether Calcutta needs the giant Messi statue as much is now the question closer home.

Mukherjee said that given the global appeal of the footballer, the government has decided not to tear it apart.

“We could have demolished it, and that would have been easier, but that would be disrespecting the footballer. We want to keep the statue unbroken,” he said.

An inscription at the base of the statue says it was “an initiative of Shri Sujit Bose”.

Located off VIP Road, it was built by Sreebhumi Sporting Club, of which Bose was president. Bose is a former Bidhannagar MLA and former state fire services minister.