Mbappe ankle injury sparks PSG 'worry'
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PARIS • Paris Saint-Germain are sweating on Kylian Mbappe's fitness for the Champions League after he suffered a serious ankle injury in the French Cup final last Friday.
The 21-year-old hobbled off in the first half after a dreadful tackle by Saint-Etienne captain Loic Perrin, who was sent off for the challenge.
Tests revealed Mbappe had "a sprained right ankle with significant ligament damage". He will be assessed again.
The news is a major blow for the French World Cup winner, who has 30 goals in 34 appearances in all competitions this season. He will be ruled out of Friday's French League Cup final against Lyon and is unlikely to be fit in time for next month's Champions League quarter-final against Atalanta.
The team have scored an average of 2.8 goals per 90 minutes with Mbappe, dropping to just 0.4 without him.
"Everyone is worried. Everyone who saw the foul is worried. Of course I'm worried," said PSG coach Thomas Tuchel after his team's 1-0 win over Saint-Etienne.
The fixture at the Stade de France was also the first competitive match in one of Europe's leading football countries to allow fans to attend since March, albeit with a maximum of 5,000 people permitted inside the 80,000-seater venue.
The French Ligue 1 was cancelled in April with PSG, who came under Qatar ownership in 2011, winning their seventh title in eight seasons, although they have never won the Champions League.
Mbappe uploaded a picture of himself with a thumbs-up sign on Saturday, with the message: "Thank you all for your messages, it touches me a lot", and Manchester United's Marcus Rashford replied with a "Feel better bro!"
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
