At the time Tuchel was unconcerned about the 21-year-old’s fitness for the Leipzig game. “It is just fatigue. It’s not an injury,” the PSG manager said after the 3-0 win. But medical tests have subsequently confirmed that the player is suffering “a right hamstring muscle problem”, PSG said.
Today’s game is a rematch of August’s Champions League semi-final in Lisbon which PSG won 3-0 before losing to Bayern Munich in the final.
Meanwhile, RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann said injury to Neymar and Mbappe gives his side a slight advantage. “Of course it’s not a disadvantage that Mbappe and Neymar won’t play - they are fantastic players - but PSG have other very good players that many teams in Europe would like to have in their ranks,” Nagelsmann said.
“It’s definitely not the worst time to face them, but we also have several injured players.”
Leipzig, who sit third in the group, are eager to bounce back from their 5-0 hammering at Manchester United last week. PSG are second in the section but level on three points with the Bundesliga club. “With these two players (Neymar and Mbappe), PSG would be a bit stronger, but we also are missing players,” said Nagelsmann, who must do without midfielders Lukas Klostermann and Konrad Laimer due to knee injuries. “After the defeat in Manchester, fatigue was noticeable - it’s hard to come home without a point, but that’s part of the job.”
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE fixtures
GROUP E: Chelsea vs Rennes; Sevilla vs FK Krasnodar
GROUP F: Zenit St Petersburg vs Lazio; Club Bruges vs Borussia Dortmund
GROUP G: Barcelona vs Dynamo Kyiv; Ferencvárosi TC vs Juventus
GROUP H: Istanbul Basaksehir vs Manchester United; RB Leipzig vs PSG