Since the World Cup, Kylian Mbappe has not been mistreated by Paris Saint-Germain, and injuries are “part of the job,” according to coach Christophe Galtier, who spoke on Friday.
Mbappe sustained a hamstring injury in PSG’s victory over Montpellier on Wednesday and is anticipated to miss the opening leg of their Champions League round of 16 matchup against Bayern Munich on February 14.
Mbappe will miss three weeks of action, which includes the Coupe de France match against Marseille as well as Ligue 1 games against Toulouse, Monaco, and Lille.
Given that Mbappe has scored 25 goals in 26 games for PSG this season and that Neymar is also out injured, this is a severe setback at a critical point in the campaign.
With Lionel Messi and his fellow top forwards out of the Toulouse match, PSG will be looking to increase their five-point lead over second-place Marseille. The match is on Saturday.
Since Mbappe returned from Qatar 2022, Galtier has questioned whether he has played the France striker too much. He concludes that PSG has done all necessary to keep Mbappe safe.
“We are in a unique season, with a World Cup in the middle,” Galtier said, “and I realise that at many other clubs with many internationals, there has been fatigue that has generated automatically and injuries.
“As a philosophy, I am in the habit of saying injuries are part of the job.
“We’re sorry above all for Kylian. He is a competitor and always wants to be involved, but we can’t have a season where we don’t have physical problems, that’s part of a season and part of the competition.
“It’s even more so for a club with internationals who are in demand all the time, as much with club as with country.”
Galtier said PSG “took a lot of precautions for Kylian’s return”.
The striker reported for duty with the capital giants in the midweek after France’s World Cup final penalty shoot-out loss to Argentina in December, illustrating his eagerness to get back into club action.
He was then allowed a holiday in January, with Mbappe travelling to the United States for that break.
“I don’t think Kylian played too much,” Galtier said, “and from the moment you play, there is always an element of risk.”
Veteran defender Sergio Ramos, hit by a thigh problem at Montpellier, is another who will sit out the Toulouse game. The onus will fall on Messi to drive PSG to victory on Saturday, and the Argentine great scored in the 3-1 success at Montpellier.
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The squad to face @ToulouseFC #PSGTFC pic.twitter.com/mD41F1aSIU
“Leo Messi was able to take matters into his own hands against Montpellier, as soon as Kylian Mbappe and Sergio Ramos went off,” said Galtier.
“He was a natural leader and the players put themselves at his service. I congratulated everyone for doing the work necessary to get this victory, which was difficult to obtain.
“The absence of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe is inevitably damaging since there were many connections between these three players. I now have to organise the team, taking into account these combined absences.
“Leo Messi will continue in his usual role. It will be up to the players who will be at his side to seize the opportunities and for everyone to raise their level of play.”