Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani could return to the team in Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Club Brugge.
The duo have struggled with injury concerns this season and have missed the majority of the last two months with respective problems, but both players could return to the side this week.
Mbappe has not started a PSG game since August’s victory over Toulouse and has been plagued by a hamstring issue. However, the French forward returned to the side in Friday’s 4-1 win over Nice and even managed to score a goal during his seven minutes on the pitch.
As for Cavani, he was on the bench for the game, but was an unused substitute. The Uruguayan has suffered from a hip injury this year and has started just two Ligue 1 games all season.
Despite that, Tuchel had some good news ahead of Tuesday match in Belgium.
“Mbappe will not play the whole game, like Cavani,” the boss admitted in his pre-match press conference, in turn confirming the pair are, at least, available for the encounter.
The news will come as a timely boost for PSG fans, with Neymar sidelined at present with a hamstring problem.
Thankfully for Tuchel, he is not short on attacking resources with Mauro Icardi and Eric Choupo-Moting in his roster as well.
The German coach also reserved some praise for summer signing Leandro Paredes, who has impressed in his last two starts after a slow start to life in Paris.
"Paredes has made good progress,” said Tuchel. “He is very professional. He showed that he could increase the intensity.”
A win for PSG on Tuesday would go a long way in securing their place in the knockout stages of Europe’s elite tournament. The French champions have won both of their group games so far and have already gained a four-point lead at the top of the table.
Brugge are currently in second place after drawing their previous two matches against Real Madrid and Galatasaray, and Tuchel knows they will not be an easy opponent to face.
"You have to prepare for a very difficult match. It's an opponent that knows how to prepare for home matches,” he said.