Injured during the September rally, and forfeited for the October one, Ousmane Dembélé will now miss the November one due to a calf injury which will keep him away from the field for several weeks. The recent psychodrama between the French team and PSG, (which had questioned and denounced the medical management of its player by the Blues staff in September), is never far away when Didier Deschamps presents himself to the media.
Following the Ballon d’Or injury against Bayern Munich this week (1-2), many were ironic about the too hasty management of Luis Enrique, the same one that was criticized for the French coach barely two months ago. Raised on this subject this Thursday at a press conference, DD subtly reminded that the 0 risk did not exist… in club as in selection. “I don’t give lessons. What happens at PSG is their business, I don’t have the information. I will not allow myself to say anything about any club. They decide, they have the elements to decide. Like us (…) We have one thing in common: his absence does not do PSG’s business nor ours. I hope he recovers quickly.”said DD, thus avoiding the guilt of September.
“I am not in Luis Enrique’s place as he is not in mine”
Since this painful episode against Ukraine, the Blues coach has continued to relentlessly reject the responsibility of his staff. His long tirade at a press conference was in the same direction this Thursday. “There have always been discussions, as is also the case with Ousmane’s injury. When there are examinations that are carried out, they are communicated in one direction or the other. Afterwards, that the interests of the clubs and the interests of the selections are not the same, that is a certainty”he insisted.
“But there have always been discussions about the examinations and diagnoses made. I am not here to change the medical protocol. The fact that we can give more decision-making power to clubs than to selections is not up to me to decide (…) I am not in Luis Enrique’s place as he is not in mine. From the moment his players are on the field, there is a risk. Hakimi and Mendes were not at risk, but they were injured anyway (…) There are more matches, more competitions, does everyone like that? The debate is open but the observation is there, the calendars are very busy”he recalled. And Paris is paying the price.
