Will Kylian Mbappe be available for Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday?
That's the big question facing PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino as his side prepares for the second leg of the 2020-21 Champions League semifinal against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Pochettino would prefer to have the 22-year-old attacker in his lineup as PSG attempts to reverse City's 2-1 aggregate lead, but Mbappe is carrying a thigh injury that has already forced the youngster to miss his team's Ligue 1 win over Lens on Saturday. Mbappe travelled with PSG to Manchester ahead of Tuesday's clash but his participation in the match is still in doubt.
"We need to assess Kylian," Pochettino said Monday, as quoted by the BBC. "Today, he is going to start an individual training session and see if he can be with the team. There is still one day, and we will see and decide if he is going to be available."
Mbappe actually picked up the injury during the late stages of PSG's 3-1 win at Metz on April 24, but managed to recover in time to play the full 90 minutes of the first leg against City four days later. Last Friday, the team announced that the French star would miss the Lens match, throwing his availability for Tuesday's second leg into doubt.
However, not everyone is convinced that Mbappe won't be on the field for the second leg.
When asked whether Mbappe would play against his team, City manager Pep Guardiola said he expects to see the PSG speedster on the Etihad Stadium field.
"Absolutely, I'm looking forward to it," Guardiola stated, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News. "He's going to play. I'm looking forward to him playing. For the football, for the game itself, hopefully he can play."
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