Paris Saint-Germain received the worst news it could get at this time of the football calendar. The capital club will be without Kylian Mbappe for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League clash against FC Bayern Munich on Feb. 14.
Mbappe suffered an injury to the left thigh at the level of the femoral biceps during PSG’s 3-1 victory over Montpellier on Wednesday at the Stade de la Mosson and will be out for three weeks.
While losing the 24-year-old is a significant blow, RMC Sport’s Jérôme Rothen isn’t buying the doom-and-gloom picture everyone is painting now that the French giants are without their star forward.
“I’m fed up with the end of the curse,” Rothen said Thursday on Rothen s’enflamme. “Injuries are the lot of a season. This one is special because of the World Cup. It’s a big black spot to prepare Bayern but there are great players; the club has high ambitions [and] we have to deal with it.
“I’m tired of hearing: ‘Mbappé is not there, it’s dramatic. PSG cannot compete with Bayern.’ I remind you that Bayern lost Lewandowski and they are playing with Choupo Moting. And I have a lot of respect for him. Bayern have also struggled since the restart.”
🗣💬 "J'en ai marre avec ce terme de malédiction. C'est malheureusement le lot d'une saison. Il faut faire avec. Le Bayern a perdu Lewandowski et a Choupo-Moting devant désormais"@RothenJerome refuse de tomber dans le pessimisme après la blessure de Mbappé. #RMCLive pic.twitter.com/zRQ4h00h2t
— Rothen s'enflamme (@Rothensenflamme) February 2, 2023
PSG still has quality players such as Neymar Jr. and Lionel Messi, but others will need to step up in Mbappe’s absence, especially against Bayern Munich. In the victory over Montpellier, the capital club did receive contributions from other players.
Fabian Ruiz and Warren Zaire-Emery appeared on the score sheet. As a result, the capital club will need these performances to compensate for the loss of Mbappe and the lack of additions during the January transfer window.
