Mbappe to miss Atalanta tie

Paris Saint-Germain will be without Kylian Mbappe for their single legged Champions League quarter-final tie against Atalanta.

The game is set to be played at Benfica’s Estadio da Luz in Lisbon on Wednesday 12 August.

Mbappe sustained an ankle injury in Friday night’s French Cup final and is expected to be out for three weeks. He left the stadium on crutches.

PSG confirmed Kylian Mbappe’s injury today, saying scans showed “an ankle sprain with damage to the external ligament.”

“The player is expected to be sidelined for approximately three weeks.”

The Parisians were 1-0 winners thanks to Neymar‘s goal in the 14th minute to claim the domestic double. Thomas Tuchel’s side were awarded the Ligue 1 title at the end of the April following France’s division to suspend play indefinitely.

Tuchel has plenty of options in attack, with Mauro Icardi and Neymar expected to be part of the front three next month. Attacking midfielder Pablo Sarabia replaced the injured Mbappe on Friday.

Eric Maxim Choupo-Mouting and Julian Draxler were both among the substitutes. The French champions will be without Edinson Cavani and Thomas Meunier, who both left on a free transfer when their contracts expired on 1 July.

Kylian Mbappe scored 18 goals in 20 Ligue 1 appearances (17 starts) in the disrupted Ligue 1 season, adding a further five assists. The 21-year-old scored five goals in seven Champions League appearances (5 starts).

The French Cup final was the Parisians’ first competitive game since mid-March, which could play a role in their match against Atalanta.

As Serie A resumed in late June, Atalanta are back up to full match fitness and have actually won eight of their 11 league games, drawing the other three. They have two matches still to play, finishing at home to Inter Milan this Sunday. With a top four place already assured, Gian Piero Gasperini could decide to rest his star players ahead of the Champions League tie against PSG.

The winners of the PSG-Atalanta tie will play their semi-final on Tuesday 18 August against the winner of the Atletico Madrid-RB Leipzig quarter-final. Kylian Mbappe could potentially be fit to make his return for the last four should his side progress.

This season’s Champions League will conclude through an eight-team single-legged knockout tournament in Lisbon, with the final taking place on Sunday 23 August.

Manchester City and Real Madrid (2-1), Juventus-Lyon (0-1), Barcelona-Napoli (1-1) and Bayern Munich-Chelsea (3-0) still have their Round of 16 games to finish in the home stadiums of the hosts the week before the quarter-finals all take place in the Portuguese capital.

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