Soccer
Didier Deschamps has defended France’s handling of Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue’s fitness following criticism from Paris Saint-Germain.
France started their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory over Ukraine on Friday, with goals from Michael Olise and Kylian Mbappe sealing the win.
But the triumph was overshadowed by injuries to both Dembele and Doue, with the latter being replaced at half-time at Tarczynski Arena last week.
Dembele, who is the front-runner to lift this year’s Ballon d’Or, replaced his PSG team-mate but was withdrawn from the action with nine minutes of the match remaining.
Following the game, the Ligue 1 champions reacted angrily, accusing the French Football Federation (FFF) of ignoring medical warnings, describing the injuries as “avoidable”.
PSG also said they had submitted medical information before the training camp began and called for a more transparent protocol with the FFF to protect players in the future.
“It’s sad for Ousmane and for Desire, of course, because of their injuries, and we’re losing two important players for tomorrow’s match,” Deschamps told reporters on Monday.
“But we did things in a professional and progressive way, as we always do with all the players, taking into account their own feelings.”
Medical update regarding Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué @Aspetar
https://t.co/7p7cTYsszD pic.twitter.com/TjEkCS7Nso
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) September 6, 2025
PSG confirmed that Dembele is set to miss the next six weeks with a hamstring injury, while Doue faces four weeks on the injury table with a calf strain.
Doue had been a bright spark for France before he was substituted, with only Mbappe (nine) attempting more dribbles than the PSG forward (four).
Dembele, meanwhile, has registered three goal involvements (two goals, one assist) for Luis Enrique’s team, who sit top of the early-season standings in Ligue 1.
And Deschamps pushed back against suggestions of conflict between club and country, saying: “This concerns two PSG players.
“But PSG are not our opponent — clubs have never been.
“I’ve been on the other side of that fence myself. Our only opponent is Iceland, and that’s [on Tuesday].”
France welcome Iceland to the Parc des Princes on Tuesday, with their next opponents starting their Group D campaign with a 5-0 thrashing of Azerbaijan.
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