Paris Saint-Germain, fresh off lifting the Champions League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup, has been thrown into a rough patch in the space of just a few days. Head coach Luis Enrique was involved in a bike accident and ended up needing surgery. Not long after, things got even worse when two key players picked up injuries during France’s 2–0 win over Ukraine: Dembélé and Doué. Inside PSG, frustration boiled over right away, mainly because the club had already warned the national team about the forward’s condition.
The Dembélé case
Ousmane Dembélé was already nursing a muscle problem in his left thigh from the match against Toulouse. According to the French daily L’Équipe, PSG had passed this information along to Didier Deschamps and specifically asked for him not to be used. Even with that warning, the coach still put him on the field.
He didn’t start the game, but at halftime Deschamps called on him to replace Doué, who had left with pain in his right calf. Barely half an hour later, Dembélé was on the ground again, this time grabbing at his right thigh.
The sequence of events left PSG’s directors visibly irritated. From their point of view, playing the forward was unnecessary and disregarded medical advice they had provided. What worries the club now is the possibility of losing him during a decisive stretch of the season, right before the Champions League gets underway.
Deschamps tried to explain himself afterward. Speaking to the press, he insisted there was no risk and that the player felt fine. “If there had been any risk, I wouldn’t have played him. He was recovered and feeling good. Unfortunately, he picked up a strain in the other thigh. That can happen to anyone,” said the coach. The words did little to calm PSG’s anger back in Paris.
Immediate impact on PSG
Doué’s knock also raised alarm bells. The midfielder complained of pain in his right calf and had to be taken off in the first half. He returned to Paris alongside Dembélé to begin treatment but will still need further tests before the full extent of the injury is clear.
The timing couldn’t be worse for PSG. On September 14, the team is set to face Lens in Ligue 1, and just days later comes the Champions League opener against Atalanta. Two injuries at once, combined with Luis Enrique’s temporary absence while he recovers, already put a dent in the club’s plans.
The episode brings back an old debate between clubs and national teams. Clubs spend heavily on physical prep, closely monitor training loads and track every detail daily. But when players report for international duty, those routines aren’t always followed. And when someone gets hurt, it’s always the club that has to deal with the fallout.