Paris (AFP)

Kylian Mbappé's injury plunged Paris SG into doubt, whose limits were revealed on Friday during his coronation in the Coupe de France which should have served as a springboard before the Champions League.

. After Neymar, the Mbappé soap opera

The day after the title against Saint-Etienne (1-0), the image of Kylian Mbappé on crutches alongside that of the celebrations on the "Unes" of L'Equipe and Le Parisien.

PSG may have lost very big. Loïc Perrin's dangerous tackle hit the right ankle of his prodigy striker, who rolled in pain before limping to the locker room, looking low.

"It cracked a bit anyway," whispered "Kyky" to the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron after the meeting, in comments captured by television cameras.

Pending the results of the medical examination, the Parisian camp alternated between anger and pain, very palpable under the masks. When coach Thomas Tuchel protested against the aggressiveness of Stéphanois, captain Thiago Silva spoke of his "sadness".

"I hope Kylian will recover as soon as possible because he is an indispensable player for us," said the Brazilian. "This is not at all good news for us," added the German.

For Paris, Mbappé's grimace brought him back to the bad memories of his recent history: those of the injuries of Neymar, who missed in 2018 and in 2019 the round of 16 return of C1.

Before playing Lyon in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue on Friday, then especially Atalanta Bergamo on August 12 in Lisbon in the Champions League quarterfinals, the countdown is on for the Parisian student who has never returned a quality copy without "Ney".

. Mandatory ramp-up

Since the beginning of the preparation, "Kyky" formed a duet with Neymar, accomplice like never before. The two stars must together guide PSG to the historic quintuplet it covets this summer.

However, after the exit of Mbappé, the PSG delivered a very mixed performance which evacuated the great confidence garnered during the friendly matches. It is still far from its best level.

"We have things to analyze and improve, it's good for a coach", soberly said the technician Swabian, who has only one official match (Lyon) to play before the C1 to start the rise. .

Her team suffered physically the first half hour and then the end of the match, recalling that it remained a meeting of recovery for her, after four months of interruption.

"You can play better. But you can't always put on a show, and win 4-0 or 8-0. You also have to know how to win when you're badly," said Marquinhos.

At the same time, Lyon did not shine either (3-2 victory against Antwerp in a friendly), nor Atalanta against AC Milan in the Championship (1-1), in a different context.

. A limited bench

In addition to Mbappé, PSG saw the injury of its right side Thilo Kehrer, hit in a hip. This exit recalled its very reduced margin for this summer.

The uncompensated departures of Edinson Cavani, Thomas Meunier and Tanguy Kouassi deprived Tuchel of solutions, who never hid his discomfort in this situation.

If "KM" does not return in August, the German will have to do without two of his "Fantastic Four" against Bergamo, as Angel di Maria is suspended. If Pablo Sarabia is a natural replacement for the Argentinian, only Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting remains as scorer if the system of four attackers is maintained.

For Kehrer, young Colin Dagba replaced him, and behind, PSG does not have any specialist in a position that Meunier occupied before his departure for Dortmund.

The unavailability of Juan Bernat, who should return for Lyon, was also felt on the left of the defense, where young Mitchel Bakker tried what he could for his ... 5th match with PSG.

Faced with injuries, and with a limited bench, PSG is walking on a wire this summer towards its incredible challenge of the quintuplet. But his dream remains well and truly accessible.

© 2020 AFP