Paris Saint-Germain are sweating over the fitness of two key stars ahead of Saturday's Champions League final against Arsenal in Budapest, with Achraf Hakimi not expected to be ready to start and Ousmane Dembele still carrying doubts after a recent setback.
Hakimi has been sidelined for almost a month since suffering a thigh injury in the first leg of PSG's Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich, and he was not able to take part when the club staged an in-house friendly with 20-minute halves. He is not expected to return to training until Wednesday, three days before the final and two days before the squad are due in Hungary, which leaves little margin for recovery.
Dembele's situation is less severe on paper, but it remains one to watch. He has been out since being replaced in the first half of PSG's recent loss to neighbours Paris FC, and while he appears confident he can shake off the niggles and start in Budapest, his availability will not be settled until the squad is put through its paces again on Tuesday.
That session now carries unusual weight for a side that has already been crowned French champions again and is trying to defend the biggest prize in European club football. PSG are the holders, but they look unlikely to reach the Puskas Arena at full strength, with the final coming after a run of injuries that has tested the depth of a squad built to chase multiple trophies.
The tension for PSG is simple enough: Hakimi's injury has already stretched to about four weeks by the time of the report, and Wednesday may come too late for a player who has not trained in the buildup. Dembele, by contrast, gives the club a more hopeful picture, but hope is not the same as certainty, and Tuesday's workout could decide whether PSG go into Saturday with both men available or with one more major adjustment to make before facing Arsenal.
For a team that has spent the season collecting silverware, the final now hinges on a brief midweek test in training and the recovery of two players who shape how PSG play. That is why psg injury news around Hakimi and Dembele matters more than usual this week: the margin between a full-strength starting line and a patched-up one may be measured in a single session on Tuesday.
