Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele is expected to make his comeback from injury for Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen, according to a source close to the club who spoke to AFP on Monday.
This development is likely to be a timely boost for PSG manager Luis Enrique, as his team has faced a series of injury setbacks this season.
The 28-year-old winger has been sidelined for six weeks due to a hamstring injury he picked up while on international duty with France in early September.
Dembele had been undergoing rehabilitation at a specialist facility in Qatar and resumed training last week.
Although he was absent from PSG’s thrilling 3-3 match against Strasbourg on Friday, the source confirmed he is included in the squad traveling to Germany for Tuesday’s fixture.
PSG shared photos of Dembele participating in full training on Saturday.
The defending European and French titleholders also saw the return of forwards Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the latter coming off the bench, in the Strasbourg game.
However, they continue to be without midfielders Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves, though some outlets have reported that captain Marquinhos has joined the squad in Germany.
“I don’t know when the injured players will return,” Luis Enrique said last Thursday, stressing that the club does not want to “take risks with the players’ health.”
PSG has opened their Champions League campaign strongly, securing wins over Atalanta and Barcelona, while Leverkusen has drawn their matches against FC Copenhagen and PSV Eindhoven.