Paris Saint-Germain have been handed another injury scare ahead of their Champions League semi-final second leg clash with Arsenal.
Luis Enrique’s side sealed a 1-0 win over the Gunners at the Emirates on Tuesday thanks to Ousmane Dembele’s strike ahead of the second leg in the French capital on Wednesday night.
PSG returned to domestic action on Saturday, losing 2-1 away to Strasbourg. With the league title already wrapped up, Enrique made 10 changes to the side that won in north London midweek with Joao Neves the only player to keep his place in the side.
Lee Kang-in was among the players to come into the side but was forced off at half-time with a shin injury, replaced by Desire Doue.
The South Korea international looked in real discomfort after picking up the knock and was later seen leaving the stadium with a heavy limp, supported by two members of staff as he made his way to the team bus., Le Parisien report.
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While Enrique commented the injury did not appear to be serious, the report states Lee will now be considered a major doubt for next week’s second leg.
Lee was an unused substitute for PSG in the first leg at the Emirates. He has started 25 matches in all competitions this season.
PSG are already sweating on the fitness of Dembele after he was forced off midway through the second-half on Tuesday with a hamstring issue.
A statement from the club on Friday said he was ‘progressing well’ with further assessments still being carried out and was not in the squad for Saturday’s game.
PSG will be desperate to have their leading scorer available having hit the back of the net 33 times this season.
But Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare and performance analytics working with the Premier League, suggests it is very unlikely Dembele is passed fit to start against the Gunners.
‘Even if that is a grade 1 hamstring injury, the likelihood of him being able to play within a week is very, very small,’ Smith told Metro.
‘My gut instinct would be that even if it is a minimal strain you are talking two weeks before you can get him back in.
‘I would put it in the unlikely category. If there is even any fibre disruption at all, it is such a high risk decision for a club to make, putting a player out there who could potentially suffer much more significant damage in a really problematic area within the sport.
‘They would want to feel really good about thing before putting him out, regardless of how important the game is.’
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