With Paris Saint-Germain playing against Newcastle United on Tuesday, Les Parisiens’ clash against AS Monaco was scheduled for Friday night. However, with many players returning late from international duty, the scheduling is hurting both sides, especially Monaco.
Only nine players were in first-team training on Wednesday. Only Vanderson, Mohammed Salisu, Wissam Ben Yedder, Chrislain Matsima, Maghnes Akliouche, Philipp Köhn, Radoslaw Majecki, Soungoutou Magassa and Mohamed Camara were present for the session. With the club’s Groupe Élite facing Paris FC, their U19s facing Slavia Prague and due to the ongoing U17 World Cup, the session could not even be supplemented with academy players to make up the numbers.
As manager Adi Hütter revealed, many of those returning from international duty went straight to Paris rather than via Monaco, in order to avoid extra and unnecessary travel time. Players such as Guillermo Maripán, Folarin Balogun and Takumi Minamino have made considerable journeys during the international break.
In order to ascertain the fitness levels of the returning players, Monaco sent a member of their medical staff to Paris in advance. Balogun in particular is not used to such long journeys during the international break having previously represented England at U21 level.
Maripán is a seasoned veteran when it comes to long journeys during the international break, however. “He does it often. He knows what he has to do in this short period to be in the best shape,” said Hütter of the Chilean international. He was one of the players assessed by Monaco’s advance team. He is expected to start for the Principality club, despite the return of Mohammed Salisu. The former Southampton defender is in the squad for the first time since surgery in September, however, he is not expected to play a part against PSG.
A mixed bag for PSG
Les Parisiens’ preparation has not been ideal either. Kylian Mbappé had no break at all, returning to training the day after France’s draw against Greece in Athens. He will start, and likely captain PSG on Friday night (21:00 local time) in the absence of Marquinhos, who suffered a hamstring injury whilst on international duty. The Brazilian will also miss the match against Newcastle United in midweek.
They will, however, be able to rely on a fresh Manuel Ugarte. He, like Lee Kang-in, was one of the players who made the long journey back to the French capital in mid-week, however, he did so earlier than others. The combative midfielder picked up a yellow card against Argentina and therefore missed Uruguay’s second game of the international break. He returned on Tuesday and has had time to prepare for the match against Monaco.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
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