Ousmane Dembele will miss Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain’s trip to Strasbourg on Friday.
The former Barcelona winger missed training on Thursday with a thigh problem and the club have since announced he will be not be risked at the Stade de la Meinau.
Luis Enrique’s team, who have a six-point lead at the top of the table, will also be without the suspended Bradley Barcola.
The forward received a one-match ban after being sent off for two bookable offences in stoppage time of last week’s 2-2 draw with Brest.
PSG had led 2-0 in that match but surrendered their advantage, raising question marks over their resilience.
Manager Luis Enrique, however, has dismissed concerns about a lack of stamina.
“After watching the match against Brest again, I don’t think we had an athletic problem,” the Spaniard told reporters at a press conference to preview the game at Strasbourg.
“I think they were very good opponents – that’s the reality. It’s true that we had difficulty pressing and recovering balls, but I don’t think it was a physical problem.”
After being held by Brest, who are third in the league, Enrique recognises PSG face a tough game against another side in good form.
Strasbourg, under the guidance of Patrick Vieira, are unbeaten in their last six matches.
“They’re a team in better momentum than at the start of the season,” said Enrique, the former Barcelona and Spain manager. “They have had good results recently and are in the middle of the table.
“They’re a team that creates but also defends very well, in an organised manner. We will have to be ready for everything in this match.”
The game comes too soon for Achraf Hakimi to rejoin the PSG squad following the end of Morocco’s campaign at the Africa Cup of Nations.
With the Champions League also due to resume later this month with the first leg of the last-16 tie against Real Sociedad, Enrique is aware the business end of the season is approaching.
He hopes his team can tighten their grip on the title race as pressures increase.
He said: “We have to win the next matches and get to the end of the season in the best possible way.
“For the moment, what is important is the match against Strasbourg, but now we are going to have to play matches every three or four days.
“We have to take these three points which are really important.”
Luis Enrique proud of Mbappe but understands decision to leave PSG
Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said he was proud to have had Kylian Mbappe in his team and understood the club's all-time leading scorer's decision to end his seven-year stay.
Mbappe, whose contract expires this season, announced his departure in a video on Friday after months of speculation about his future.
"All I can say is marvellous things about Kylian Mbappe as a footballer and person," Luis Enrique told reporters on Saturday.
"I understand his decision. He has been here for seven years and is a club legend. He has given everything to this club, and this club has given him everything as well. I wish him all the best for the future.
"I have been proud to have him in this team. He has helped us and is a leader, and he has done so with a smile on his face."
But losing Mbappe, who has scored 255 goals for PSG in all competitions and won six Ligue 1 titles with them, will not change things at the club, according to Luis Enrique.
"These are things that we have known for a long time... it was only made public yesterday," he said.
"But it doesn't change anything in terms of our general outlook. Everything will stay the same.
"Regardless of those who are here or who are absent, my aim is to be stronger next season."
Luis Enrique said exiting the Champions League after losing to Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals still hurt, and it was important for PSG to end the season by winning the Coupe de France final against Lyon on May 25.
He added: "PSG will continue to be a great team, and we'll get even better. We will bring in players with strong mentality and players who identify with the club... that's how life works."
PSG, who have won the Ligue 1 title for the third time in a row, host 12th-placed Toulouse on Sunday, which will be Mbappe's last home game for them.
Portland Timbers v Seattle Sounders: Neville calls on hosts to put foot down in derby
Phil Neville believes the Portland Timbers have not picked up the points their performances have warranted this season, but he knows the time has come for them to put their foot down ahead of Sunday's Cascadia Derby against the Seattle Sounders.
Portland sit 12th in the Western Conference standings, below the Sounders on goal difference, after going eight MLS matches without a victory.
Their 10 points through 11 games in 2024 represents their joint-worst return at this point of any MLS campaign (alongside 2014).
Neville, however, believes they have deserved more as they prepare for a run of three home games in their next four.
"I think the first thing to say is we are not making any excuses – the results have not been as good as we wanted," he said.
"We've not got our just rewards but now we look forward to a stretch where we've got to perform better and get better results, we've got to put our foot down on the gas."
The Sounders have also struggled this term, though they have taken four points from their last two MLS games against the Philadelphia Union (3-2) and LA Galaxy (0-0).
They then overcame Louisville City on penalties in the U.S. Open Cup in midweek, and coach Brian Schmetzer hopes they can carry on their momentum from that game on Sunday.
"This club has had a long history in the U.S. Open Cup, I like the tournament. It was certainly a challenge against a good, well-coached Louisville team," Schmetzer said.
"We came out on top and hopefully this propels us a little bit in our league play."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Portland Timbers – Maxime Crepeau
Portland have conceded at least once in a club-record 17 successive regular-season matches, allowing 37 goals in that time.
Goalkeeper Crepeau has faced 41 shots so far in MLS this term, preventing 1.13 goals according to Opta's expected goals on target (xGoT) model, conceding 14 times from 15.8 xGoT faced.
Seattle Sounders – Raul Ruidiaz
Ruidiaz has 12 goals in 16 previous MLS matches against Portland (including playoffs), the most goals scored by any player against the Timbers in MLS play.
It's also the most goals scored by any MLS player against a single opponent since Ruidiaz made his debut in the competition in July 2018.
MATCH PREDICTION – PORTLAND TIMBERS WIN
The Timbers are unbeaten in six straight matches against the Sounders (four wins, two draws), the longest streak in all competitions by either team in the MLS era of their rivalry.
Portland have also won their last two home matches against Seattle after the Sounders won four of the previous five meetings at Providence Park.
Seattle's 10 points through 11 matches this season are tied for the second-worst start in club history, having only collected eight points at this stage in 2018. Though the Timbers have been in dismal form themselves lately, this fixture could come at a good time for them.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Portland Timbers – 41.5%
Seattle Sounders – 30%
Draw – 28.5%
Busby Jr. reappointed as Reggae Girlz head coach; eighteen members of historic World Cup squad return for Brazil friendlies
Hubert Busby Junior has been reappointed as Head Coach of the Jamaica Senior National Women’s Team, the Jamaica Football Federation announced in a statement on Friday.
This is Busby's second stint with the team, having held the position from 2020 to 2021.
He was removed from the position when the JFF requested FIFA to investigate unsavory media reports originating in Europe. FIFA subsequently cleared Busby.
“The Jamaica Football Federation is pleased to announce that after careful consideration and due process, our technical committee has recommended the immediate reappointment of Hubert Busby as head coach of the Senior Women's National Team,” the JFF said in Friday’s release.
“Based on his vast experience and knowledge of the squad, we think he is the perfect individual to take the team through the next stage of its development,” it continued.
Xavier Gilbert, who was acting in the role of Head Coach since October 2023, will revert to his previous role as assistant coach.
Busby's first task will be to take charge of the 23-member squad which will play two international friendlies against Brazil on June 1 and June 4 in Brazil.
Eighteen members of the group for the two games were members of Jamaica’s history-making 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad, while former Liverpool midfielder Jade Bailey makes a return to the team which is missing prolific striker Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw and Kalyssa 'Kiki' Van Zanten due to injuries.
The squad is set to depart for South America on May 26.
Squad: Chantelle Swaby, Konya Plummer, Jade Bailey, Denesha Blackwood, Kayla McKenna, Allyson Swaby, Drew Spence, Atlanta Primus, Vyan Sampson, Peyton McNamara, Page Bailey-Gayle, Trudy Carter, Kameron Simmonds, Tiffany Cameron, Sydney Schneider, Rebecca Spencer, Niya Cardoza, Liya Brooks, Amelia Van Zaten, Jody Brown, Israela Groves, Davia Richards, Lauren Reid
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