Thiago Silva slowly walked off the pitch in the 17th minute of Paris Saint-Germain’s 4-3 win over Girondins de Bordeaux on Sunday with what appeared to be a muscle injury.
After the match, manager Thomas Tuchel was asked about the injury and he claimed that it wasn’t “too serious.” Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
On Monday evening, Le Parisien reported that Silva will be out for three weeks with “a lesion to the femoral biceps to the right thigh.” Depending on how the injury progresses, PSG’s captain will likely miss three weeks.
At best, that timeframe puts Silva’s return around March 15, which means he will miss PSG’s pivotal UEFA Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund at the Parc des Princes.
The news will have a major impact on Tuchel’s lineup options for that match against Dortmund.
With Silva unavailable, that means Marquinhos will have to fill his role at center-back instead of being positioned as a defensive midfielder where Tuchel likely prefers him against Dortmund. Tanguy Kouassi is an option at center-back but it would be a bold move for Tuchel to trust a 17-year-old in a game like this.
With Marquinhos likely to drop back in the formation, that’s one less midfielder for Tuchel to choose from with several absences already causing problems. Marco Verratti is suspended for the return leg and Ander Herrera is injured and won’t be ready in time.
Idrissa Gueye struggled mightily against Dortmund and Leandro Paredes wasn’t even in the squad. At the Parc, Tuchel could rely on both of them in the most important match of the season.
On defense, Tuchel will be without right-backs Thomas Meunier (suspended) and Colin Dagba (injury). Thilo Kehrer is Tuchel’s last option to play at that position but remember, PSG still has to play three more games before Dortmund comes to the French capital and you never know what might happen.
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