PSG suffer major injury scare ahead of Champions League final with Arsenal

Luis Enrique has played down concerns over Ousmane Dembele’s fitness, less than two weeks before the Champions League final.

The Ballon d’Or winner was forced off just 28 minutes into Paris Saint-Germain‘s 2-1 defeat to local rivals Paris FC on Sunday.

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Dembele made only his 11th league start of the season in the clash, but his night came to an early end when he had to be replaced by Goncalo Ramos after suffering a suspected thigh issue.

This sparked fears in the PSG corner, who defend their Champions League crown when they face Arsenal in the final on May 30.

With less a fortnight to go until the showdown, the Parisians will be desperate to have their star man available, who has been key in their quarter-final and semi-final wins over Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Dembele’s early withdrawal will also have left France fans concerned, having just been named in their 26-man World Cup squad.

‘Just fatigue’

PSG boss Enrique has since moved to allay fears over Dembele’s fitness, as he suggested his substitution was precautionary.

The Spaniard said: “I have nothing to say about Ousmane, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I think it’s just fatigue.

“What we’re saying today is just speculation, but I don’t think it’s anything serious, and there are still two weeks left.”

Dembele’s early substitution came as PSG’s victorious Ligue 1 campaign came to a disappointing end.

They fell to a last-gasp defeat to their city rivals, as Alimani Gory hit a 94th-minute winner, who also equalised in the 75th minute after Bradley Barcola had given the champions the lead.

PSG had already wrapped up the league title, and Dembele helped lift the Ligue 1 trophy before the match.

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The Frenchman has struggled for fitness throughout the campaign, picking up two separate calf injuries and missing a month of the season with a hamstring issue sustained in September.

While this has led to him having limited league minutes this term, Dembele was named the Ligue 1 Player of the Year last week.

He has scored ten goals in 22 appearances, recording seven assists.

Star man

Enrique’s reassurances over Dembele will come as a huge relief to PSG fans ahead of the Champions League final.

The forward has been the difference in Europe on several occasions this season, particularly in the knockout stages.

He has scored seven goals in the competition this term, with six of them coming in the knockout stage across all rounds.

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In the round of 16 against Chelsea, the France star netted in a 5-2 first leg victory, as PSG went on record a thumping 8-2 aggregate win.

He then went one better in the quarter-finals, netting twice in their second-leg clash against Liverpool to send his side through.

Dembele’s biggest performance yet came in a semi-final win against Bayern Munich, as he scored a double in the 5-4 first-leg thriller, before notching one more in the second leg to reach back-to-back finals.

And after his eight goals in last year’s edition helped fire PSG to a first-ever European crown, the 29-year-old will be looking to do the same again in their upcoming final against Arsenal.

The Gunners will look to displacing the reigning champions in Budapest, as they chase their first-ever Champions League title.