Paris Saint-Germain are racing against time to have Achraf Hakimi and Ousmane Dembele fit for Saturday’s Champions League final against Arsenal at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. Hakimi is not expected to be fit to start, while Dembele appears confident he can line up for the holders’ biggest night of the season.
Hakimi has been sidelined for nearly a month after suffering a thigh injury in the first leg of the semi-final against Bayern Munich. He is not expected to return to full training until Wednesday, leaving only three days before the final. That timetable makes his chances of starting look slim, even as PSG try to push him back toward match fitness.
Dembele’s situation is less clear but no less important. He was a notable absentee from PSG’s recent in-house friendly, which used 20-minute halves to keep the squad sharp, after being replaced in the first half of a recent domestic defeat to Paris FC and later struggling with a knock. His absence from that workout raised fresh doubts about how much he can do before Saturday, even though he seems upbeat about his prospects.
Tuesday’s training session in Paris is the first chance for PSG to test the squad in a high-intensity setting since the weekend, and it comes at a decisive point in the buildup. The French club have already secured another Ligue 1 title and arrive as holders of the European crown, with Arsenal ending a 22-year wait for a Premier League title in the background of a final that now hinges on fitness as much as form.
The next 72 hours should tell PSG whether they can put their strongest side on the field or whether the final will be shaped by two of their most influential attackers watching from the sidelines. For Luis Enrique’s team, the margin for error is gone.
