France coach Didier Deschamps has sought to ease concerns of a rift with Paris Saint-Germain after the club expressed frustration over injuries to Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue during international duty.
Dembele, PSG’s top scorer last season and a Ballon d’Or contender, will be sidelined for six to eight weeks after limping off in France’s 2–0 win over Ukraine in World Cup qualifying on Friday. Doue also sustained an injury in the same match and is expected to be out for a month, a blow to PSG’s Champions League defence.
The French champions wrote to the country’s football federation on Sunday, calling for a more transparent system of coordination between clubs and the national team. PSG said medical advice on player workload had been “ignored” despite the club’s shortened summer break following their Club World Cup campaign.
Deschamps, however, defended his staff’s handling of the players. “Our medical team acted in a professional and progressive way, as we always do, taking into account how each player feels,” he said ahead of France’s fixture against Iceland at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
“PSG are not our adversary, and never have been. The clubs are not our opponents — only Iceland is,” Deschamps added, stressing that communication with clubs remains ongoing.
He pointed to cases involving Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki and Arsenal defender William Saliba, who were excused from travelling to France’s training base after their injuries were confirmed by scans shared with the national team.
