Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani will both miss Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid due to injury.

Photo by Imago

Mbappe was forced off against Toulouse last month with a hamstring problem and has not featured since, while Cavani is out of action with a hip problem he suffered 15 minutes into the same game.

The two strikers are expected to resume training by the end of the week but the visit of Real Madrid to the Parc des Princes on Wednesday will come too soon for both players.

Thomas Tuchel‘s side will also be without Neymar, with the Brazilian forward serving a three-match Champions League ban for insulting match officials following PSG’s defeat by Manchester United in the round of 16 last season.

The Brazilian’s summer has been blighted by links with a move back to Spain with both Real Madrid and Barcelona said to be interested in his services.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi even got as far as meeting with his Barca counterpart Josep Maria Bartomeu but no deal ever transpired and Neymar will remain in Paris until January at least.

Along with the other two members of PSG’s star-studded forward line, the three men accounted for 11 of PSG’s 20 goals in their Champions League campaign last season.

If the French champions are to mount a credible challenge for top European honours, they will need all three fit and firing in a tricky group that also includes Galatasaray and Club Brugge.

Should they navigate their way through the group stage, the real work starts for Tuchel after Christmas: the Qatari owners at PSG have long coveted the Champions League but have seen the side crash out in the last 16 three years in a row and the club have never made it past the quarter-finals.

Source – eurosport.com