PARIS – Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe has made a faster-than-expected return to training ahead of the Champions League last-16, first-leg home tie with Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
Both he and Lionel Messi, who suffered a hamstring strain in the French Cup defeat by Marseille and missed Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Monaco, took part in a training session on Monday.
After Mbappe suffered a thigh injury against Montpellier on Feb 1, the club said he would be out for three weeks.
Last Saturday, coach Christophe Galtier said he did not think Mbappe would play on Tuesday, although his opposite number, Bayern’s Julian Nagelsmann, had said he expected the French striker to feature.
In recent years, PSG have been hampered by injuries at inopportune moments, with metatarsal fractures plaguing Neymar ahead of a tie against Real Madrid in 2018 and ruling him out of both legs of the Manchester United debacle a year later.
The Brazilian was also hampered by injury against the Spanish giants last season.
The French giants come into Tuesday’s game in poor form, having lost to Rennes, Marseille and Monaco and drawn with Reims in their last seven games.
Galtier has admitted he is worried about the Bayern tie, saying after the Monaco defeat: “There was a lack of intensity... I am worried about the match on Tuesday night. If I wasn’t that’d be something serious.
“We’ll see if some of those that couldn’t start the match today will be able to play.
“We have a very weakened team and we’re worried... I understand the fans’ anger.”
Adding to his worries, L’Equipe reported that Neymar clashed with teammates Vitinha and Hugo Ekitike during the Monaco game.
The publication added that the forward and club captain Marquinhos hit back in the dressing room at sporting adviser Luis Campos, after he slammed the team’s shameful attitudes and “lack of aggressiveness”.
While Bayern may have fewer issues, Nagelsmann cut a frustrated figure during the weekend’s 3-0 win over Bochum.
“There was too little movement,” the 35-year-old said, promising “if we play like that on Tuesday, we won’t go any further (in the Champions League)”.
He even threw a little warning to his starting XI last Saturday, saying his team “only got better after the 60th minute (when) the substitutions brought fresh momentum”.
He added: “That’s when we earned the result, not before. We have to improve before Tuesday.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s other Champions League tie between Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan, Spurs revealed that Rodrigo Bentancur will miss the rest of the season.
The midfielder, who scored Spurs’ goal, ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the 4-1 defeat by Leicester City.
Like Spurs, Milan have been struggling for form. Coach Stefano Pioli said he wants last week’s 1-0 win over Torino to be the turning point after two Milan derby defeats and heavy league losses to Lazio and Sassuolo.
He said Friday’s win was a “rebirth” and added: “We need to keep going, playing the Champions League next season would be a good finish at this point, but we need to be more consistent.”
The last Italian team to win the Champions League was Inter Milan back in 2010. AFP, REUTERS
