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Christophe Galtier "not too worried" about Kylian Mbappe injury

sportsmole.co.uk, 2 February 2023, 11:04
Paris Saint-Germain manager Christophe Galtier is confident that Kylian Mbappe has not suffered a serious injury after his withdrawal in Wednesday's 3-1 Ligue 1 win over Montpellier HSC.

The 24-year-old was only on the field for 21 minutes before being withdrawn, having stayed down after a tackle from Montpellier midfielder Leo Leroy.

Mbappe trudged off the field to be replaced by Hugo Ekitike, immediately sparking fears over his availability for PSG's upcoming Champions League tie with Bayern Munich.

The French champions will host their German counterparts in the first leg of their last-16 battle on February 14, and Galtier's side also have a key period of fixtures coming up domestically.

Les Parisiens return to action against an in-form Toulouse on Saturday before a Coupe de France last-16 clash with Marseille next Wednesday, and Monaco also lie in wait on February 11 in the top flight.

However, speaking to Canal+ after Wednesday's victory, Galtier immediately allayed any fears of a lengthy absence for Mbappe, who initially appeared to damage his hamstring at the Stade de la Mosson.

"He took a knock to the back of the knee or the back of the thigh, so we'll see. I'm not too worried. It's a bruise or a contusion, we don't know yet," Galtier explained.

"With the run of matches we don't want to take risks with a very busy fixture list, but it doesn't appear that serious."

Mbappe's injury marked the end of a nightmarish evening for the France international, who had an early penalty saved by Benjamin Lecomte before a retake was awarded, with the Montpellier goalkeeper shown to have been off his line.

Mbappe went for the opposite corner on his second attempt, but his effort cannoned off the post before he inexplicably sent the rebound over the crossbar in a frustrating first half for PSG.

Sergio Ramos was another early casualty at the Stade de la Mosson, having been involved in a nasty clash of heads with Stephy Mavididi and being withdrawn for Renato Sanches amid fears of a suspected concussion.

PSG soon found their groove in the second half, where Achraf Hakimi's wonder strike was ruled out before Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring from close range in the 55th minute.

Lionel Messi's ninth league goal of the season gave the capital giants a comfortable 2-0 lead in the 72nd minute, but a peach of a strike from Arnaud Nordin made things interesting in the dying embers.

However, Warren Zaire-Emery would come off the bench to complete the job, becoming PSG's youngest-ever goalscorer at the age of 16 years and 330 days.

Galtier's side have now extended their lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table to five points, with Lens suffering a 1-0 defeat to Nice and dropping down to third behind Marseille, who prevailed 2-0 against Nantes.

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