Dembele recovers from injury on the live line? Paris ace may "adventure" to fight Arsenal again

Sports Weekly All-Media Reporter Wang Qinbo

For Paris Saint-Germain, the second leg of the Champions League semi-final match against Arsenal will be held this Wednesday, not Tuesday, which almost means a key positive - main player Dembele has hope of recovering before the game.

For Enrique's team, Dembele is irreplaceable. After half a season of experimenting and giving up several "No. 9" or "pseudo-9" candidates such as Ramos, Asensio, and Li Gangren, Enrique finally found a breakthrough in Dembele. Dembele showed great potential in the center position, and his retracement, organization and forward insertion were almost always just right, complementing Enrique's ball-handling system. It is certain that without Dembele, Paris Saint-Germain's overall system would have been difficult to maintain the same level and efficiency.

However, after scoring the winning goal for Paris in the 4th minute of the away game against Arsenal last week, Dembele's physical condition was obviously problematic. He was replaced by Balcola in the 70th minute, and then missed all the team training together. He stayed in the gym to recover from the entire process, and naturally did not enter the league list against Strasbourg last weekend.

However, French media brought good news on Monday - Dembele is still expected to make its debut in Wednesday night's game. "Optimism is increasing day by day." There is no doubt that since the game is scheduled for Wednesday rather than Tuesday, this extra day is undoubtedly precious for Dembele, who is still training in the gym on Sunday.

How was Dembele injured? How about recovery? Paris Saint-Germain has always maintained a vague attitude towards this. After last week's game against Arsenal, the club said Dembele was not a big problem, but issued another announcement last Friday, saying that he had suffered a "right thigh biceps strain", which added variables to whether he could catch up with the game in the round. However, good news came out again early this week.

According to Le Parisien, Dembele himself is eager to appear. He feels good about himself and the Paris medical team will likely give him permission to participate. His entry into the roster is almost a foregone conclusion, but starting or coming on the bench will depend on whether coach Enrique is willing to take the risk of using him.

Demberle has missed the Champions League more than once this season. Last fall, he missed the Champions League match against Arsenal (losing 0-2 away) due to disciplinary reasons; and in the game against Manchester City in January this year (4-2), he was also a substitute in poor health, with Li Gangren as the starting lineup No. 9. Since Paris couldn't start the first half, Enrique decisively let Dembele come on the court during the halftime break, and he shined and helped the team eliminate Manchester City.

French media frequently mention the term "risk", which means that if Enrique uses Dembele in the second leg, he will face the risk of aggravated player injuries. Le Parisien interviewed Nikola Dillon, an injury expert and physical coach of Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Dion said: "In my opinion, the medical term ‘Biceps strain on the right thigh and femoral biceps’ is somewhat vague. Every word in the announcement was carefully selected, especially at this critical moment of the season. But I think he can play on Wednesday. Judging from the situation on the court, he did not stop suddenly like a severe tear and acted like he was cut by a knife. I judged that this was not a serious injury. Judging from his about to be 28 years old (turned 28 on May 15) and his current medical level, he should be able to recover. In occasions like the Champions League semi-finals, both players and clubs will be willing to ”

Regarding the word "risk", Diyon further explained: "Yes, this part does have the risk of worsening injuries and developing into tear, but don't forget that this risk may actually be faced by every player. The real key point is: the biceps femoris are extremely important to Dembele, which determines his speed, sprint and acceleration, unlike the adductor muscles who are mainly responsible for changing directions and passing balls. "

The key problem pointed out by Nikola Diyon is that even if Dembele feels good about himself, his performance may be limited if the biceps femoris is indeed uncomfortable. Because the health of this part will directly determine whether he can fully utilize his characteristics.