PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain has written to the French soccer federation demanding a better working relationship between club and country, after its star players Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé were injured on international duty.
Both were injured during Friday’s World Cup qualifying match against Ukraine on Friday.
Dembélé, who is a strong candidate to win the men’s Ballon d’Or after inspiring PSG to a first Champion League title, will be sidelined for up to six weeks with a . Doué is out for around four weeks with a calf strain.
“Paris Saint-Germain has sent a letter to the French Football Federation urgently calling for a new, more transparent and collaborative medical coordination protocol between clubs and the national team,” PSG wrote in a statement. “To make players’ health and medical support a top priority.”
PSG added that the French national team was provided with medical information concerning workloads and the injury risk to its players, and that France coach Didier Deschamps and his staff seemingly overlooked the advice.
“The club deplores the fact that these medical recommendations were not taken into account by the French national team’s medical staff, as well as the total lack of consultation with its medical teams,” PSG wrote. “The recent events, serious and preventable, must give rise to swift and immediate corrective measures.”
PSG begins its Champions League defense against Atalanta on Sept. 17 and goes to Barcelona on Oct. 1, with both key players set to miss those matches.
Deschamps said he sympathised and understood PSG’s frustration but insists that he took no undue risks.
“We have always done things seriously and professionally,” Deschamps said Sunday on television show “Téléfoot.” “If you leave players on the bench, you’re not taking any risks. As long as there are players on the pitch, there’s no such thing as zero risk.”
Deschamps insists that both players were fully consulted before being allowed to take part in Friday’s game.
“The protocol stipulates that they must come and register their injury on Monday morning. We observe and we see how things progress,” Deschamps said. “In the week leading up to this, we took this seriously by asking how the player felt before each (training) session.”
However, it could be that the responsibility lies elsewhere.
Players pushed too far?
At the end of June, France’s union of professional soccer players launched on the , saying it is “urgent to stop this massacre” amid ongoing concerns about extreme player workloads.
Days before the start of the month-long Club World Cup, soccer chiefs faced renewed calls to safeguard players over growing fears of The UNFP also accused FIFA president Gianni Infantino of living “in an Ivory Tower” by ignoring the impact congested calendars have on players.
PSG began its Ligue 1 campaign on Aug. 16 last year and effectively finished its season on July 13 with the Club World Cup final against Chelsea, with Doué and Dembélé both starting that match.
Just one month later, PSG played in the UEFA Super Cup against Europa League winner Tottenham, with some PSG players having had barely three weeks of rest, and then began its Ligue 1 title defense on Aug. 16.
Both players were involved in those two games. ___
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