Kylian Mbappe could miss Paris Saint Germain match against Lyon on July 31 and their UEFA Champions League quarter-final match against Atalanta on August 12 after the horrific tackle he suffered in the hands of Saint-Etienne defender Loic Perrin on Friday night.
PSG faced Saint-Etienne yesterday in a heavily tensed encounter which produced 10 yellow cards and one red card. Though last night’s match was the third match this season where a Saint-Etienne’s player was awarded a red card before the 30th-minute mark in the first 45 minutes, last night’s card was different due to the kind of tackle that produced the red card.
In the 14th minute of the match, Neymar had already put the French champions ahead and it was almost looking like a match that will end with an outrageous scoreline.
Apparently, Saint-Etienne had a game plan to take out the most important player in PSG‘s squad, not minding the consequences of such a plan. Hence, around the 20th-minute mark, Loic Perrin, a 34-year-old French footballer who has been with Saint-Etienne throughout his professional football career, slide into Mbappe and his two legs went straight to the ankle of the 21-year-old star.
Mbappe went down in severe pain as the footballers on both side went into a free-for-all session while the referee began to award as many yellow cards as he could in order to bring the situation under control. At the end of the day, PSG players got three yellow cards while Saint-Etienne’s players share the rest.
Tackle just on Mbappe !!!! Horrible tackle !!! pic.twitter.com/AujXWkxxyQ
— Justin (@jutin__) July 24, 2020
For Those Who Haven’t Seen The Tackle On Kylian Mbappe By Loic Perrin That Earned Him A Red Card Here it Is 👇pic.twitter.com/VtcvDw7aSm
— MisturBETS (@MisturBets) July 24, 2020
At first, the best referee Amaury Delerue could give Perrin for his challenge on Mbappe was a yellow card. It took the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for him to realise that it was a red card offence. Hence, Perrin was sent off in a match that will possibly be the last in his football career at Saint-Etienne as his current contract with the club will expire this year.
In the other hand, the medical team of PSG could not do much to ensure that Kylian Mbappe finishes at least the first half, he had to be substituted in the 26th minute. The French international limped off the field with the aid of the medics while trying to stop himself from crying.
When the players were coming out for the second half, Mbappe was seen patched up and on crutches. He leaned on the crutches throughout the duration of the match.
Oh boy…
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) July 24, 2020
Just over two weeks before the return of the Champions League and Kylian Mbappé is leaving the ground on crutches 😳 pic.twitter.com/PFRT2kQD4H
The Challenge on Kylian Mbappe was not intentional
Despite how intentional Perrin’s challenge on Mbappe looks, the manager of Saint-Etienne, Claude Puel, has insisted that it was not intentional and hopes that the injury of the French youngster doesn’t become serious.
“Of course, I regret his injury and I hope it’s nothing important concerning Kylian”, Claude Puel said. “There was no intention to hurt him. The intention was to play the ball.”
Kylian Mbappe’s injury: PSG Manager Thomas Tuchel is worried
Though PSG defeated Saint-Etienne 1-0 to win the French Cup, their 2nd title of the season, they achieved that at the expense of their most important player in this season. As it stands, Kylian Mbappe who has scored 30 goals and made 17 assists in 34 appearances in all competitions this season, might not be available for PSG in their last two most important engagements of the season – the League Cup final against Lyon and a Champions League quarter-final against Atalanta.
In reaction to Mbappe’s injury, the manager of PSG, Thomas Tuchel, confessed that he is worried just like everyone who saw the video showing the horrific tackle on Mbappe. He, however, noted that he would know for sure whether the youngster will miss their future engagements when the impact of the tackle is examined.
“I have no news (on Mbappe’s injury) at the moment”, Thomas Tuchel said. “Everyone would be worried after seeing the images of the injury. Of course, I’m worried.”
Despite the injury and the crutches, Kylian Mbappe can’t stop loving the feeling of being a champion.
I LOVE THIS FEELING 🏆 @PSG_inside pic.twitter.com/y2i3x7Z4xF
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) July 24, 2020
