The nightmare doesn’t end. On Tuesday evening, PSG lost against Bayern Munich. But above all, he lost three major players in a single evening. Ousmane Dembélé, injured in the calf, left the field in the first half. Achraf Hakimi, victim of a wild tackle by Luis Diaz, left his ankle in pieces just before the break. And it wasn’t over. A few hours after the match, the club’s medical press release came out. A third name was on the injured list. A key player, also a side player, also selected in the FIFPro 2025 typical team. The massacre continues.
PSG: Mendes joins Hakimi and Dembélé in the infirmary
The player in question is Nuno Mendes. The Portuguese left-back suffers from a sprained left knee and will remain in treatment for the coming weeks. Details on the exact severity of the injury remain unclear, but the joint absence of Hakimi and Mendes plunges PSG into an unprecedented defensive crisis. The two best full-backs in the world, reigning European champions, absent at the same time. A duo who won everything together last year: Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup. Volatilized in 45 minutes.
The match against Bayern will be remembered as one of the darkest evenings of the season. Three major injuries in one game. Dembélé, who had barely returned after several weeks of absence, relapsed in his calf. Hakimi, untouchable for a year and a half, out for six to eight weeks. Mendes, pillar of the defense, affected knee. And all this while the Parisian infirmary had never really been empty since the start of the season. Désiré Doué is arrested until the end of the year. Marquinhos, Fabian Ruiz, Bradley Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia have all had problems. The end of 2025 promises to be endless for Paris.
PSG pays for its too quiet summer
This massacre reveals a major strategic error. Last summer, PSG only recruited three players: two goalkeepers (Renato Marin and Lucas Chevalier) and a central defender (Illia Zabarnyi). No side. However, the full-backs are the most requested players in Luis Enrique’s system. The Spanish coach himself justified this choice at the end of October: “He is undoubtedly the best right-back in the world for me. This is why we are not signing another right-back. » Blind trust in Hakimi, who had never really been hurt before. Today, this optimistic approach is turning violently against the club.
Luis Enrique will have to improvise. Warren Zaire-Emery or Joao Neves on the right side. David Boly, 16, just out of the training center, could be propelled into the deep end. Makeshift solutions in the face of crucial deadlines in the Champions League. A simple signing this summer would have avoided this scenario. But Paris chose not to strengthen. Today, the European champion club pays cash. Three injured in one evening. A decimated defense. And an end to the year that promises to be nightmarish.
