Dembélé Injury Overshadows PSG Comeback Win Over Monaco

‎Paris Saint-Germain received a major injury setback when Ousmane Dembélé was forced off midway through the Champions League match against Monaco.

‎Trailing 2-0 to their Ligue 1 rivals, PSG fought back to seal a 3-2 victory at the Stade Louis II, with Desire Doué delivering a superb late cameo off the bench.

‎Dembele was withdrawn in the first half, walking off in the 26th minute, replaced by Doue, who had a superb impact off the bench, assisting Achraf Hakimi’s equaliser before scoring his side’s next two goals to turn the game on its head.

‎The Frenchman walked off alone, and at first it didn’t look like an injury, but he had been dealing with doubts entering the tie. The Ballon d’Or winner has endured persistent niggles this season, missing large parts of the campaign with hamstring and calf issues.

‎How long he will be sidelined this time remains unclear, and that could pose a problem for Luis Enrique, with Paris Saint-Germain sitting second in Ligue 1 behind Lens.

‎”We know what shape each player is in. No risk, he trained normally,” Enrique said afterwards.

‎”We’ll have to see if there’s an injury. He took a knock in the first 15 minutes, then he couldn’t run.”

‎Their comeback victory over Sebastien Pocognoli’s Monaco was revenge for their 1-0 defeat by the same opposition back in November, Paris’ first defeat of their domestic campaign.

‎They will take a narrow one-goal lead back to the Parc des Princes for next week’s second leg, as they push to reach the last 16.

‎The defending champions did not automatically qualify for the first knockout round of Europe’s premier competition, finishing 11th in the league phase.