Kylian Mbappe's injury "does not seem very serious", Paris Saint-Germain head coach Christophe Galtier has revealed after the forward limped off against Montpellier.
With Neymar already ruled out of the Ligue 1 match because of muscle fatigue, Mbappe was forced off in the 21st minute of PSG's 3-1 victory on Tuesday and clutched his hamstring as he went straight down the tunnel.
The forward's injury came after he had missed a penalty, as well as its retake for a Montpellier encroachment, though his team went on to win the game through goals from Lionel Messi, Fabian Ruiz and 16-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery.
But after Sergio Ramos also came off with injury in the first half, there was much concern after the game over some players' availabilities with less than two weeks until the first leg of PSG's Champions League last-16 tie with Bayern Munich.
Galtier eased fears over the injuries to Mbappe and Ramos, though, telling reporters at his post-match news conference: "It doesn't seem very serious, for one as for the other.
"We will see. Obviously they are two important players. On what we saw at half-time and what we said to each other, there is not too much worry.
"Kylian took a blow behind the knee and on the muscle. Is it a contusion, a hematoma. We don't know yet. With the sequence of matches, we prefer not to take any risks.
"Sergio, when falling, hurt his adductor. We think it's not serious. He preferred to come off and not take any risks regarding the discomfort."
Despite PSG winning Ligue 1 last season, head coach Mauricio Pochettino was relieved of his duties after failing to deliver the club's first Champions League.
Galtier is bidding to avoid the same fate, though he says he expected the pressure before he came into the job.
"Yes, automatically when you sign for PSG, there is an obligation to win," he said.
"The Champions League requires you to be ready. We have players coming back, and we've just had a World Cup. I knew before coming that there was pressure."
PSG missed out on a deadline day move for Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech due to the Premier League club reportedly making an error with the necessary paperwork.
When he was asked whether he was disappointed not to have brought Ziyech in, Galtier responded: "You know it. We wanted to replace the departure of Pablo Sarabia.
"Unfortunately, it didn't happen but it's the quirks of the transfer window – you have to accept it."
Maresca confirms James will miss Leicester clash with hamstring injury
Enzo Maresca confirmed that Reece James has suffered another hamstring injury and will miss Chelsea's Premier League fixture against Leicester City on Saturday.
James made 11 appearances in all competitions last season before undergoing hamstring surgery, which was designed to help him overcome his series of injuries.
He returned to action in Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to Liverpool last month, completing his first 90 minutes in 569 days a week later against Newcastle United.
Though his latest injury setback is his eighth hamstring problem in four years, while also picking up thigh, ankle and muscle issues along the way.
Maresca played down concerns about a long-term lay-off but confirmed James will miss Saturday's match at the King Power Stadium.
"We have just one injured player and that's Reece, who unfortunately felt something small in training two days ago, and we don't want to take a risk for the weekend," he said.
"It's a hamstring, muscular problem. We will see, we don't know for how long, for sure [we want him fit for longer]. At the moment it is not happening, but we hope it will happen soon.
"He is out this weekend, but hopefully he can be back soon. It's probably difficult that he can be available for the Conference League [next Thursday], but hopefully soon."
Since his debut season in 2019-20, James' most appearances came in the 2020-21 campaign, featuring 47 times in Chelsea's Champions League winning season.
His best run of matches during that time is six in May 2021, but he managed just 482 minutes under Mauricio Pochettino in all competitions last season.
James has, however, managed more minutes (6138) in the Premier League since the 2020-21 season than any other player in the current Chelsea squad, though Enzo Fernandez (4375) is second, despite only joining the club in January 2023.
Bayern focusing only on Augsburg amid busy schedule – Kompany
Bayern Munich are only focusing on Friday's Bundesliga game against Augsburg amid a crowded match schedule in the next 11 days, head coach Vincent has said.
The league leaders will be without midfielder Joao Palhinha and forward Mathys Tel, who picked up injuries on international duty with Portugal and France respectively, while goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is nursing a ribcage injury and is racing to be fit.
Bayern have a busy schedule coming up after facing Augsburg, with a Champions League game at home to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday before the trip to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga in just over a week.
They cap off their 11-day four-match run with the DFB-Pokal last-16 clash at home to holders Bayer Leverkusen on 3 December.
"We are missing Palhinha and Mathys Tel also got a knock while with the national team," Kompany told a press conference on Thursday. "The one fear we have as coach is for players to leave and come back injured.
"We are playing against Augsburg. It is important that it is only about the next game. We want to deliver the performance as we did before the international break. It is only about Augsburg and only this step is important for me today."
Kompany is in his first season in charge but knows expectations are high, and the team must remain contenders in all three competitions going into the new year.
"We're satisfied with the season we've played so far in all competitions despite the two defeats in the Champions League," said Bayern sports director Max Eberl, referring to their 1-0 defeat away to Aston Villa and 4-1 loss at Barcelona.
"It is a new format and we're still getting to know it," he added, with Bayern down in 17th place in the play-off spots.
"We have PSG which is a special game, Leverkusen in the Cup and Dortmund in the league. We want to start and win every single game. That is our starting point."
Leverkusen won their first domestic double last term but Bayern, desperate to restore their national dominance, are undefeated in the Bundesliga and have quickly carved out a five-point lead at the top over second-placed RB Leipzig.
The Bavarians have 26 points, with Leverkusen, who host Heidenheim on Saturday, nine behind in fourth. Dortmund welcome Freiburg, having dropped to seventh spot on 16 points, while Leipzig travel to Hoffenheim.
Bayern finances could thwart deal for Leverkusen's Wirtz
Bayern Munich's financial position could thwart a move for Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz, but the club are hopeful Jamal Musiala will pen a new contract soon.
That is according to Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen, who discussed the club's squad-building plans in an interview with German outlet Abendzeitung.
Wirtz has attracted interest from a host of Europe's biggest clubs after helping Leverkusen to an unbeaten title triumph in 2023-24, winning the Bundesliga's Player of the Season award after scoring 11 goals and providing 11 assists in the competition.
Wirtz has four goals and two assists in the league so far this term, while only Alex Grimaldo (35) and Kevin Stoger (33) have bettered his 26 chances created in the Bundesliga and his figure of 3.9 expected assists (xA) puts him second to Grimaldo (4.22).
Bayern's tendency to swoop for Germany's brightest and best has led to them being linked with Wirtz, but Dreesen says finances will dictate their ability to make a move.
"It must always be in Bayern's interest to have the best German players with them," he said.
"But it is also true that Uli Hoeness always said Bayern must act in an economically sensible way. He would not agree with us if we did not observe both of his fundamental pillars."
Since the start of last season, Wirtz leads all players in the Bundesliga for successful dribbles, with 112. Second by that metric by Musiala, who has completed 109 for Bayern in that time.
Bayern are set to open talks over a new deal with the attacking midfielder, whose current deal with the Bavarian giants expires in 2026.
"It's no news that we naturally want to extend with one of the top players in the world who is in our ranks," Dreesen said.
"Jamal Musiala has developed excellently with us, he is a player who inspires the crowd, who creates a spectacle due to his individual class, who can turn a game around.
"I very much hope that these first really good talks that Max Eberl and Christoph Freund have with Jamal will ultimately lead to an extension.
"I don't want to put this in a corset in terms of time. The important thing is that it comes to that, even if it doesn't happen by the end of the year. Jamal Musiala is one of the faces of the future for FC Bayern."
Dreesen is also keen to see Joshua Kimmich put pen to paper on a new contract, with the midfielder having less than a year to run on his current deal.
"Joshua, who has a high degree of sporting ambition, knows which club he is in and what goals he can achieve here together with us," Dreesen said.
"He feels comfortable in Munich and is a very important player in this team.
"We have already said publicly that we now want to start talks with him about a contract extension quickly."
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