Will Ousmane Dembélé play for PSG against Arsenal in the Champions League final? Injury update

Ousmane Dembélé set Paris Saint-Germain alarm bells ringing on May 17 when he was forced off 27 minutes into his team’s final league game against Paris FC, less than two weeks before the Champions League final against Arsenal. However, the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner has since eased fears over his fitness and looks all but certain to start in attack in Saturday’s clash in Budapest.

Dembélé “feeling much better”

“I’m feeling much better,” Dembélé said in an interview with French TV station M6 this week after sitting out a closed-door friendly last weekend. “I had a minor scare, but the doctor told me there’s nothing to worry about. It’s my calf. I had a slight twinge in my calf, and I preferred not to take the risk.

“I’m doing very well. I had a slight scare against Paris FC, but I’m fine, and I’ll be ready for the final.”

Dembélé, who has been named in the squad for the game, seems set to feature, and indeed start, against the Gunners, but the question remains whether he will be at peak condition.

“Will I be 100 per cent for the final? Yes, I think so,” the man himself responded. “Yes, I’ll be ready. I do not doubt it.”

A mixed season after Ballon d’Or glory

It has been a strange season for Dembélé, who has not come close to matching his outstanding 2024-25 campaign that delivered the Ballon d’Or, an award he had never previously been close to winning.

The former Barcelona attacker scored 35 goals and added 16 assists in 53 appearances, with eight of those goals coming in the Champions League to help PSG reach the final. Surprisingly, Dembélé did not score in the 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the final in Munich.

This season, however, he has started only 11 Ligue 1 games due to a combination of minor injuries and rest management for the Champions League. The 28-year-old has still been effective in Europe, scoring seven goals and adding two assists in 10 starts, with his most recent five goals coming in crucial knockout ties against Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Dembélé’s Champions League final goal

Dembélé will now get his chance on the biggest stage again. Can he score his first goal in a Champions League final? He will, at the very least, have the opportunity.

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