PSG's injured Dembele to miss Strasbourg trip, eyeing return for Arsenal
PARIS: Paris St. Germain forward Ousmane Dembele will miss their Ligue 1 trip to Strasbourg with a hamstring strain, manager Luis Enrique said on Friday as the French side look to have him back for next week's Champions League semifinal second leg against Arsenal.
Dembele is PSG's top scorer this season with 33 goals in all competitions and also netted the winner in their 1-0 first leg victory at Arsenal, but the 27-year-old came off in the 70th minute, going straight down the tunnel with an apparent injury.
PSG confirmed he had a hamstring strain and that his 'condition is progressing well,' with further assessments to be conducted in the coming days.
'Tomorrow he won't play, that's for sure,' Luis Enrique told reporters, while also declining to confirm if he will rotate his squad with the Ligue 1 title already in the bag.
'We're going to do what we've been doing up to now, with the same idea. Nothing has changed.
'The most important thing is that every minute spent wearing the PSG jersey is useful for matches in other competitions.'
PSG lost their chance to go an entire league season unbeaten when they suffered a 3-1 defeat by Nice last weekend.
Luis Enrique's side can still finish the season unbeaten on the road but the Spaniard has no interest in that record as they prepare to face Arsenal on Wednesday and Reims in the French Cup final later this month.
'It's a match we're preparing for in the Champions League, in the Coupe de France, not for the unbeaten record,' he said.
'It would be great to win the match in Strasbourg, but the motivation is to prepare for the Champions League match, not to break an unbeaten record.'
PSG have fallen in the Champions League knockout stages in recent years and have the opportunity to return to the final for only the second time as they chase a treble.
'We want to achieve this objective of playing this final, but there is still the semifinal second leg,' said Luis Enrique, who previously won the treble coaching Barcelona.
'There is not much time to rest, you have to manage all of this. We, the coaches, go for the best. I've been a top-level coach for several years and it's part of the job.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
5 days ago
- Arab News
FIFA has ignored Israel's atrocities for too long
Football fans worldwide are unequivocally challenging FIFA's continued support for Israel, organizing with unprecedented unity for Palestine. Unlike previous actions, this mobilization is now notably well-coordinated, widespread and consistent. Long gone are the days when much of the sport's solidarity emerged from the fanbase of Glasgow Celtic, Chile's Deportivo Palestino or Arab teams. Gaza is now the undisputed focal point of sports solidarity worldwide. The consequences of this are arguably the most significant in terms of achieving global awareness of the Israeli genocide in Gaza in particular, but also of the Israeli military occupation and apartheid in the whole of occupied Palestine. For years, the mainstream media did its utmost to ignore the pro-Palestine flags, banners and chants. When solidarity exceeded tolerable levels, whether in Scotland or Chile, football's authorities cracked down with fines and various other punitive measures. Nowadays, however, such tactics are utterly failing. At times, Celtic Park seems to be one massive pro-Palestine rally, while numerous other clubs are joining in or expanding their efforts. In and around Paris Saint-Germain's UEFA Champions League final match against Inter Milan on May 31, it seemed as if the entire PSG supporters' activities focused on Palestine. Chants of 'Nous sommes tous les enfants de Gaza' (We are all the children of Gaza) echoed everywhere, inside and outside the stadium. As soon as Achraf Hakimi scored the opening goal, a massive banner was unfurled that read: 'Stop the genocide in Gaza.' In and around the Champions League final, it seemed as if the entire PSG supporters' activities focused on Palestine Ramzy Baroud Such unprecedented acts of solidarity are comparable to the sporting boycotts of apartheid South Africa, which began in the mid-1960s. These boycotts were instrumental in liberating the discourse and transforming the conversation about apartheid from academic halls into the streets. While the above is true, the two cases are not always comparable. Regarding apartheid, thanks to the efforts of Global South governments, boycotts largely began at an institutional level and gradually garnered massive popular support. In the Palestinian case, however, there has been a complete moral breakdown on the part of institutions like FIFA, while football fans are the ones championing solidarity. FIFA is yet to take any action against Israel despite the blatant racism within its sporting institutions and the direct harm it is doing to Palestinian sports. The go-to excuse is the slogan: 'sports and politics don't mix.' But if that is the case, why did FIFA seamlessly mix the two following the Russian invasion of Ukraine? Almost immediately after the start of the war, Western countries, purporting to speak on behalf of the international community, began slapping hundreds, and eventually thousands, of sanctions on Russia, which found itself isolated in every arena, including sports. FIFA quickly joined in, banning the Russian national team from its competitions. In the Palestinian case, the hypocrisy is limitless, even though it began long before the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Every Palestinian effort, often backed by Arab, Muslim and Global South associations, to hold Israel accountable for its apartheid and military occupation has been met with failure. Every time, the response is the same. An October 2017 statement by FIFA is a case in point. It was a response to a final report by the FIFA Monitoring Committee Israel-Palestine, which followed repeated requests by international groups to look into the matter of the Israeli occupation and the need for FIFA to hold Israel accountable. In the Palestinian case, there has been a complete moral breakdown on the part of institutions like FIFA Ramzy Baroud The response was decisive: 'The current situation … has nothing to do with football.' It is of 'exceptional complexity and sensitivity' and cannot be 'changed unilaterally by nongovernment organizations such as FIFA.' The 'final status of the West Bank territories' is the concern of competent international public law authorities. It concluded that 'FIFA … must remain neutral with regard to political matters,' adding that the association will 'refrain from imposing any sanctions' on Israel and that 'the matter is declared closed.' Since then, so much has changed. For example, in July 2018, Israel declared itself a country for Jews only via the so-called nation-state law. In July 2020, the coalition government agreed a deal that allowed for the annexation of occupied areas within the West Bank. And since Oct. 7, 2023, it has been engaged in a genocide in Gaza. The accusatory language this time is not that of the Palestinians and their allies. It is the language of international institutions, which are actively investigating Israel's horrific violations in Gaza. Though FIFA may still claim that the matter is too 'complex' and 'sensitive,' how can it ignore the fact that more than 700 Palestinian athletes were killed and some 270 sports facilities destroyed in the first 14 months of the war? Here, something must be said about the tenacity of the Palestinians, a quality that does not hinge on FIFA's action or inaction. The Palestine national football team continues to go from strength to strength and, even more impressively, Palestinian children in Gaza somehow manage to create spaces, even among the ruins of their cities, to kick a ball, thus stealing a moment of joy from the horrors of genocide. Though FIFA continues to fail Palestine, sports fans refuse to be part of this moral travesty. Ultimately, it will be the tenacity of the Palestinians and the growing solidarity with their just cause that will force FIFA to take action, not only for the sake of Palestine or even the future of the sport, but for the organization's own relevance.
Arab News
07-06-2025
- Arab News
Mbappe ‘not bitter' about PSG's Champions League triumph
STUTTGART, Germany: France captain Kylian Mbappe said Saturday he is not bitter Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League the year after his departure for Real Madrid. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport 'I didn't leave too soon; my story with PSG was over. I am not bitter; I had reached the end of the road,' Mbappe said in a press conference ahead of Sunday's Nations League third place match against Germany in Stuttgart. PSG crushed Inter Milan 5-0 to win the Champions League in Munich last Saturday, the first time the club has won the competition. 'I tried everything, and it was destiny that meant it had to happen without me,' said Mbappe. 'PSG winning the Champions League without me doesn't affect me. I was happy, I think they deserved it. 'They've had so many years where they struggled. I've been there too; I've played in every Champions League stage in Paris except for the victory. 'They're the best team in Europe. 'I don't remember seeing a team win 5-0 in a major final.' Mbappe has repeated his desire to win Europe's biggest club competition, but the closest the Paris-born forward got with his boyhood club was losing the final in 2020 to Bayern Munich. The 26-year-old moved to Madrid in the summer of 2024 hoping to lift the Champions League, but the Spanish giants crashed out in the quarter-finals of the competition to Arsenal in April. Real failed to win a trophy in the 2024-25 season, their first campaign without silverware in four years.
Asharq Al-Awsat
07-06-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Donnarumma Says Italy's Form Unacceptable After Drubbing by Norway
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma offered no excuses for his side's poor showing in their 3-0 defeat at Norway in the World Cup qualifiers on Friday, saying their form was not acceptable and the fans deserve better. Playing the first match of their qualifying campaign, Italy were stunned after a ruthless first-half performance by Norway, who put three past the visitors thanks to Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland. Italy sit fourth in Group I, while Norway lead the group with nine points from three matches. Estonia, Moldova and Israel are also in Group I. "I have no explanation at the moment. You just have to go inside and realize the performance tonight. Our fans don't deserve this," Donnarumma told Italian TV channel Rai Sport. "We all have to come out of these games together, we need to examine our conscience." The four-times World Cup winners have not qualified for the global showpiece event since 2014. Italy manager Luciano Spalletti said his team were going through a difficult patch and that he would speak with the Italian Football Federation about the situation. "From us, it has to come from us first of all. We are Italy and these matches are not acceptable... We must be more united than before," said Donnarumma, who won the Champions League, Ligue 1, French Cup and French Super Cup titles with Paris St Germain in the recently concluded season. Italy next host fifth-placed Moldova on Monday.
