Ousmane Dembele appears to be winning his battle to be fit to play for Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second-leg tie at home to Arsenal.
The 27-year-old scored the only goal of the game in the fourth minute as the French giants claimed a slender 1-0 win over the Gunners in last week’s first leg at the Emirates Stadium.
However, Dembele was withdrawn with 20 minutes remaining after he was seen in some discomfort, with head coach Luis Enrique confirming after the match that the star attacker has sustained a hamstring strain.
“It’s not serious, it’s something very minor, but he’s probably a doubt for the second leg,” Enrique told reporters.
“We’re going to try to get Dembele back on the pitch. If Ousmane can play, that’s better, but if he doesn’t, we’ll still be a real team. We’ve been saying that since the start of the season.”
PSG then released a brief statement, which read: “Ousmane Dembele has strained his right hamstring. His condition is progressing well. A further assessment will be carried out shortly.”
🚨 BREAKING:
Ousmane Dembele is in training today with PSG ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Paris for the second leg of the UCL Semi-Final! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/hHK8eYOuaG
— Le African Gooner (@leafricangooner) May 5, 2025
Dembele returns to training ahead of Arsenal second leg
Dembele was left out of the matchday squad as a much-changed PSG outfit were beaten 2-1 away against Strasbourg in Ligue 1 last weekend.
However, the Frenchman is making progress in his bid to feature for Enrique’s side in the Champions League on Wednesday and images have emerged of the attacker taking part in a first-team training session on Monday.
According to the Evening Standard, is has been suggested that Dembele does not feel discomfort and is confident he will be able to feature in some capacity against Arsenal.
Dembele’s return to training comes as a significant boost to PSG, as the attacker has been in sensational form in front of goal since the turn of the year, contributing to more goals (26 goals, four assists in 25 games) than any other player in Europe’s top-five leagues in 2025.
If Dembele is not fit to start, then Enrique will likely call upon Goncalo Ramos to lead the line, while Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola will all battle to provide support in attack.
Meanwhile, PSG will assess the fitness of versatile midfielder Lee Kang-in ahead of kickoff after he picked up a knock in the defeat to Strasbourg last time out.
As for Arsenal, Jorginho (lung), Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes (both hamstring), Gabriel Jesus, Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu (all knee) all remain sidelined with injuries, while Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber will both have knocks assessed before kickoff.
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