Kylian Mbappe has not been mishandled by Paris Saint-Germain since the World Cup and injuries are "part of the job", coach Christophe Galtier said on Friday.
Mbappe is expected to miss PSG's Champions League last-16 first leg against Bayern Munich on February 14 after suffering a hamstring injury in the win at Montpellier on Wednesday.
Facing three weeks on the sidelines, Mbappe should also sit out Ligue 1 games against Toulouse, Monaco and Lille, as well as the Coupe de France clash with Marseille.
Considering Mbappe has 25 goals in 26 appearances for PSG this season, this is a major blow at a significant stage of the campaign, with Neymar also on the injured list.
The Toulouse game comes on Saturday as PSG look to extend their five-point lead over second-placed Marseille, with Lionel Messi heading into the fixture without his fellow star attackers.
Galtier has considered whether he has played Mbappe too much since the France striker returned from Qatar 2022. His verdict is that PSG have protected Mbappe as much as possible.
"We are in a unique season, with a World Cup in the middle," Galtier said, "and I realise that at many other clubs with many internationals, there has been fatigue that has generated automatically and injuries.
"As a philosophy, I am in the habit of saying injuries are part of the job.
"We're sorry above all for Kylian. He is a competitor and always wants to be involved, but we can't have a season where we don't have physical problems, that's part of a season and part of the competition.
"It's even more so for a club with internationals who are in demand all the time, as much with club as with country."
Galtier said PSG "took a lot of precautions for Kylian's return".
The striker reported for duty with the capital giants in the midweek after France's World Cup final penalty shoot-out loss to Argentina in December, illustrating his eagerness to get back into club action.
He was then allowed a holiday in January, with Mbappe travelling to the United States for that break.
"I don't think Kylian played too much," Galtier said, "and from the moment you play, there is always an element of risk."
Veteran defender Sergio Ramos, hit by a thigh problem at Montpellier, is another who will sit out the Toulouse game. The onus will fall on Messi to drive PSG to victory on Saturday, and the Argentine great scored in the 3-1 success at Montpellier.
"Leo Messi was able to take matters into his own hands against Montpellier, as soon as Kylian Mbappe and Sergio Ramos went off," said Galtier.
"He was a natural leader and the players put themselves at his service. I congratulated everyone for doing the work necessary to get this victory, which was difficult to obtain.
"The absence of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe is inevitably damaging since there were many connections between these three players. I now have to organise the team, taking into account these combined absences.
"Leo Messi will continue in his usual role. It will be up to the players who will be at his side to seize the opportunities and for everyone to raise their level of play."
Maanum stunner inspires Arsenal turnaround against Bayern, Barca ease past Roma into semi-finals
Arsenal defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 at Emirates Stadium to complete a 2-1 turnaround on aggregate and reach the semi-finals of the Women's Champions League.
Trailing to a Lea Schuller header from last week's first leg, Frida Maanum fired in a sensational 20-yard effort to level up the tie within 20 minutes of Wednesday's return game.
Stina Blackstenius powered in a header six minutes later to give Arsenal the lead in the tie for the first time in front of the 21,307 watching spectators in north London.
Jonas Eidevall's side missed chances to kill off the tie, but they saw out the victory to set up a meeting with the winners of Thursday's tie between Paris Saint-Germain and Wolfsburg.
Barcelona earlier booked their spot in the semi-finals, where either Chelsea or Lyon await, with a commanding 5-1 win over Roma at Camp Nou sealing a 6-1 aggregate victory.
Two-goal Fridolina Rolfo scored either side of Maria Leon's curler to put Barca, who finished runners-up to Lyon last season, out of sight before half-time.
Asisat Oshoala tapped in a fourth a minute after the restart and Patricia Guijarro headed in from a corner to complete the rout.
Competition debutants Roma registered a couple of attempts on target in the remaining 40 minutes, but it was plain sailing for Barca in their quest for a second European crown.
Arsenal and Aston Villa technical staff charged by FA after altercation
Members of Arsenal and Aston Villa's technical teams have been charged by the Football Association over an altercation during their Premier League game last month.
The Gunners staged a remarkable 4-2 comeback at Villa Park on February 18, sealed by a dramatic own goal courtesy of their former goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
It came after earlier goals from Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko had helped the visitors draw on level terms, while Gabriel Martinelli added a fourth deep in injury time.
Celebrations were marred between a clash between Villa’s head of performance analysis Victor Manas and Arsenal's technical analyst Miguel Molina, and now the pair have been charged by the FA.
"Aston Villa's head of performance analysis, Victor Manas, and Arsenal's technical analyst coach, Miguel Molina, have been charged following their Premier League game on Wednesday 18 February," read a statement.
"It's alleged that Miguel Molina's behaviour and/or language during the 94th minute was improper and/or abusive and/or insulting, and that his behaviour in the tunnel after the final whistle was also improper."
Manas and Molina have until Friday to provide a response to the FA.
Tottenham seek urgent clarification after FIFA extends Paratici ban worldwide 'with no advance notice'
Tottenham have reached out to FIFA for urgent "further clarification" after Fabio Paratici's ban was extended worldwide "with no advance notice" to the club.
Paratici was one of 11 individuals banned by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in January after Juventus were found guilty of alleged breaches in relation to historical transfer dealings.
The Bianconeri were docked 15 points in Serie A as part of the punishment, with Paratici and Juve denying any wrongdoing and lodging an appeal for the initial sanctions to the Italian Olympic Committee.
Paratici was handed a 30-month ban by the FIGC but continued his role with Spurs due to his punishment only falling under the jurisdiction of Italian football's governing body.
But FIFA confirmed on Wednesday those FIGC sanctions have been extended worldwide, with Tottenham demanding immediate clarity over the bans on their managing director of football Paratici.
"Following media reports today regarding the FIFA Disciplinary Committee decision to extend worldwide the sanction imposed by the FIGC Federal Court of Appeals on Fabio Paratici on 20 January 2023, the club made urgent enquiries to FIFA," a club statement read.
"FIFA has late this afternoon responded to us in writing notifying us today, Wednesday 29 March 2023, that a decision has been made by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to extend the FIGC sanction worldwide.
"This committee deliberation has been taken with no advance notice to any of the parties involved. We are urgently seeking further clarification from FIFA as to the details of the extension and its variance from the FIGC sanction."
The announcement came just a day after Paratici had addressed the club's media and stated head coach Antonio Conte's dismissal from Spurs was the "right decision for everyone".
Paratici placed his full faith in interim boss Cristian Stellini, who will be in charge until the end of the season, and Spurs sought to clarify the interview took place prior to any knowledge of FIFA's sanctions.
The statement added: "We should like to make clear that when Fabio conducted the interview on club channels yesterday neither he nor the club had any indication of this decision being made by FIFA, based on the fact the FIGC sanction was taken on 20 January 2023 and remains subject to an Appeal on 19 April 2023.
"We shall update on this matter in due course."
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