The crunch time is here again in Europe’s premier competition. Among other things, PSG want to lay a strong foundation at home for the return leg at Liverpool, hoping to repeat last year’s story and knock the Reds out of the Champions League.
One thing was already clear before the official lineup announcement: midfield star Fabián Ruiz would play no part in that effort.
According to Sport Bild, the official reason is a knee problem.
But according to the French outlet L’Équipe, there could be more to it.
The club is said to have doubts about whether the injury is really that serious. Their own scans reportedly showed no findings anymore. As a result, the bosses believed the 29-year-old could at least have played a few minutes in last Friday’s league match against Toulouse.
Originally, the injury was said to be minor. As reported by Sport Bild, he suffered a knee bruise in the Champions League match against Sporting in January, but it has now dragged on longer than expected.
📸 BLANCA CRUZ – AFP or licensors
The fact that Ruiz is reportedly insisting he does not want to play or train as long as he feels pain — even the slightest discomfort — is causing frustration.
PSG head coach Luis Enrique recently said about the fuss surrounding his player that there is no problem: “We have to wait for the player. We try to bring the players back as quickly as possible.”
Last season, Ruiz was still a key pillar in PSG’s run to winning the Champions League. Until his injury, he had also been a regular starter this season.
What do you think — will PSG be able to break down the struggling Reds even without Ruiz? Let us know in the comments.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
