PSG manager unsure when Presnel Kimpembe may return

Sidelined with a serious injury over a year ago, no one seems to know when we might see Paris Saint-Germain’s vice-captain on the field again.

Presnel Kimpembe (29) was stretchered off in his side’s 3-0 triumph over Le Classique rivals Olympique de Marseille in February 2023. The 2018 World Cup winner suffered an Achilles injury in that encounter but was on the squad list last month ahead of their UEFA Champions League encounter with Bayern Munich.

While he was on the list of players for that match, the Frenchman wasn’t on the final team sheet and hasn’t been since that aforementioned injury.

Kimpembe has yet to feature for Les Parisiens since Luis Enrique took charge, and the PSG boss says that his return to the pitch remains a mystery even to him. “The truth is don’t know when he’s going to come back,” Luis Enrique said at a press conference. “I love it when players come back from an injury. Training is the best weapon to see what kind of state they’re in,” he added.

In October, the French centre-back returned to training with the club with his teammate Ousmane Dembélé (27) saying last weekend that Kimpembe is fine.

Despite sustaining that long-term injury, Kimpembe extended his contract with PSG in December 2023, signing with the reigning French champions until 2026. He’s won seven league titles with the club and was named to the Team of the Year in 2020-21, the last time they failed to win the league.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre