Ousmane Dembélé, the 28-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward, had to leave the match against Ukraine this Friday evening (2026 World Cup qualifiers) after coming on as a substitute at halftime for Désiré Doué (who suffered a calf injury and will be out for 3 to 4 weeks). Dembélé was forced off with a right hamstring problem. Initial reports suggested a six-week absence after examinations on Saturday, but L’Equipe now suggests it could be even longer.
“The right thigh injury suffered by Ousmane Dembélé during Friday’s match against Ukraine (2-0) in Poland will rule him out of action for six to eight weeks, according to examinations carried out on Saturday upon his return to Paris. The PSG forward is not expected to play again before the next international break and will miss key matches against Marseille, Barcelona, and Lille.
While a slightly earlier return to action is not entirely impossible, his participation in the next France national team squad and the matches against Azerbaijan and Iceland in October is also highly uncertain.”
We remain cautious; we’ve seen that the media isn’t always accurate about injuries. There can be surprises in either direction. But unfortunately, optimism is not warranted at the moment. Dembélé will miss some important matches, and then he’ll need time to get back to his best form. With Doué also injured, PSG loses some creativity.
There are options within the squad, but these injuries are undeniably bad news. We can only hope that the France national team staff will be more cautious next time with a player whose fitness is uncertain.
