If the mercury rose significantly this Monday, Luis Enrique’s certainties regarding the availability of his troops are still a little frozen. Two days before the start of the match which will pit PSG against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday in San Mamés during the sixth day of the Champions League, the Parisian coach is not yet certain, at the time of writing, of being able to count on all the players he planned to take to the Basque Country.
The first and new source of torment concerns the 2025 Ballon d’or, Ousmane Dembélé. Since his left calf injury on November 4 against Bayern Munich, the number 10’s return to competition has been accompanied by all the necessary caution. But after having taken care to gradually restart the machine against Tottenham (11 minutes), Monaco (26 minutes) and in front of Rennes (26 minutes), the former Barcelona player is this time not hampered from a muscular point of view but is uncertain due to flu symptoms which forced him to remain bedridden this Monday while his partners trained at the Campus.
Uncertainty also surrounds the case of Lucas Chevalier. Forfeited this Saturday against Rennes due to the stigma linked to the violent tackle of Lamine Camara a week earlier in Monaco, the Parisian goalkeeper could, for the second time in a row, leave his place in the cage to the Russian Matveï Safonov. In recent hours, the French international (1 selection) was still feeling debilitating pain which prevented him from being at 100% of his capabilities. If these were still stubborn this Tuesday when you wake up, there is little chance that the former Lille player will hold his place on the pitch at San Mamés, or perhaps even that he will take a seat on the plane. For him, as for Ousmane Dembélé, the decision will only be made at the very last minute, depending on everyone’s feelings and state of form.
While the 3-match suspension of Lucas Hernandez, sanctioned following his elbow on Kept away from the field since his thigh injury on October 29 in Lorient, Désiré Doué could be on the trip to Bilbao. Since he no longer feels any discomfort in training, a wave of optimism accompanied the former Rennes player regarding a possible return to the group this Wednesday.
