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Champions League

Mbappé trains with PSG on eve of Bayern UCL clash

The French striker limped out of the Ligue 1 clash on 2 February in Montpellier and was initially expected to be ruled out of the Champions League game.

(From L) Paris Saint-Germain's Argentine forward Lionel Messi, Paris Saint-Germain's Italian midfielder Marco Verratti, Paris Saint-Germain's Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Kylian Mbappe and Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar take part in a training session in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, west of Paris on February 13, 2023, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League round of Last 16 First leg football match against FC Bayern Munich. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
FRANCK FIFEAFP

There were plenty of raised eyebrows among the media as Kylian Mbappé trained with the Paris Saint-Germain first team squad on Monday morning, on the eve of Tuesday’s Champions League Round of 16 first leg clash against Bayern Munich. The French striker limped out of the recent Ligue 1 game away to Montpellier on 2 February and was initially expected to be ruled out for at least three weeks.

Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Kylian Mbappe
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Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Kylian Mbappe FRANCK FIFEAFP

The PSG forward trained normally with the rest of squad and his presence has raised hopes for Parisian fans that the striker will play some part in Tuesday’s clash with Bayern, at least as a substitute.

At the start of Monday’s session which was open to the media for the first 15 minutes, Mbappé took part in a ‘keep ball’ rondo session with Lionel Messi, Neymar, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Verratti, Achraf Hakimi and Marquinhos.

Asked about the possibility of seeing Mbappé return ahead of schedule, coach Christophe Galtier was pessimistic on Saturday: “I don’t think so. He’s following his fitness protocol. He was the victim of a muscle injury. We will take zero, zero, zero risks with Kylian.”