Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele is set to undergo treatment for a right calf muscle issue after going off early in Sunday’s final Ligue 1 game, a setback that lands just days before PSG meet Arsenal in the Champions League final. Dembele was removed after 27 minutes in PSG’s 2-1 defeat by Paris FC, and the club said on Monday he was receiving care for discomfort after the withdrawal.
Luis Enrique initially said the change was down to fatigue, but PSG later said Dembele had been taken off as a precaution. The timing matters because the French club are defending champions and rely on Dembele to drive their attack on 30 May at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. He scored the early goal in the semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich, where PSG drew 1-1 and advanced 6-5 on aggregate.
Dembele’s importance this season has been clear in numbers as well as moments. He has 10 goals and seven assists in 22 league appearances, even after an injury-hit first half of the campaign. Last season he scored 21 goals and, after a strong run of form, won the Ballon d’Or. PSG’s medical staff now have little time to settle the issue before the team faces Arsenal in the final.
The concern also reaches beyond club football. France named Dembele in Didier Deschamps’ squad last week, and the national team is due to begin its World Cup campaign against Senegal on 16 June. That leaves another tournament calendar hanging over a player who has already spent part of the season managing fitness, and who now has to get through treatment before PSG’s biggest match of the year.
For PSG, the hope is that the right calf problem proves minor enough to leave him available in Budapest. For Arsenal, it is one more line in a game plan that may now have to account for a forward whose condition can change the balance of the final in a single move.
