M bappe injury hits PSG at crunch time in season

PARIS: An injury to a key player is once again threatening to derail a Champions League campaign for Paris Saint-germain (PSG) with Kylian Mbappe having been ruled out of the first leg of their last-16 tie against Bayern Munich.

Mbappe suffered the injury to his let thigh in the first half of PSG’S 3-1 win at Montpellier in midweek and had to come off, having already twice missed a penalty in the early stages of the match.

It raises questions about PSG’S handling of a player who starred for France at the World Cup right to the end, scoring a hat-trick in the final against Argentina, but then opted to make an immediate return to training with his club.

He was eventually afforded a week’s holiday at the start of January but he has not looked as sharp as usual -- his only Ligue 1 goal since the World Cup was a penalty against Strasbourg on Dec.28.

PSG have said Mbappe will be sidelined for around three weeks, meaning he could miss three key Ligue 1 games as well as a French Cup last-16 tie in Marseille.

Whilehewillhopetobebackintimeforthesecond leg of that Champions League tie against Bayern on March 8, PSG must now hope that the presence of Lionel Messi and Neymar can be enough for them in the first game against the Germans on Feb.14.

In recent seasons the injury headaches have usually been caused by Neymar, who has had a tendency to suffer from fitness issues just before big European ties. But there must also be doubts about who can take Mbappe’s place in the team, given that a January transfer deadline-day move for Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech fell through, Pablo Sarabia has let the club and centre-forward Hugo Ekitike may still be too raw for a huge Champions League tie.

Whatever happens, it is a stinging blow to lose Mbappe now ater PSG pushed the boat out to offer him a new contract last year in order to lead the club’s latest charge for European glory.

French League fixtures (kick-offs GMT) Saturday: PSG vs Toulouse (1600), Troyes vs Lyon), Rennes vs Lille (2000) Sunday: Clermont vs Monaco (1200), Ajaccio vs Nantes, Auxerre vs Reims, Lorient vs Angers, Strasbourg vs Montpellier (all 1400), Brest vs Lens (1605), Marseille vs Nice (1945)