When the Parisians Hit the Injury Sniper Zone: PSG’s Fitness Update Ahead of a Big Strasbourg Weekend

Injury Update Ahead of Strasbourg Clash

On Thursday, Paris Saint-Germain issued an official update about their injured players ahead of Friday’s Ligue 1 opener against Strasbourg at Parc des Princes, marking the start of an important week in which league business sits alongside a midweek European challenge.

PSG host Strasbourg at the Parc des Princes, then, four days later, travel to Bayer Leverkusen for the third match of their Champions League group stage campaign.

The club stated that Ousmane Dembélé continues his rehabilitation from a thigh injury, while Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz is undergoing recovery from a muscular issue.

Regarding Portuguese midfielder Joao Neves, the plan has been to extend his treatment and rehabilitation program based on the latest assessments to ensure a fuller recovery from his muscular injury.

In contrast, the update did not include four players—Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvartskhelia, Sini Mayolo, and Marquinhos—hinting that they may join PSG’s list after healing from various injuries, keeping them out of the current international window in October.

The Parisian side has been dealing with a high injury toll since the season began, and the club has clashed with the French Football Federation on several occasions through official statements about Dembélé and Bradley Barcola in September and October’s window.

PSG and their Spanish manager Luis Enrique have felt the impact of a shortened pre-season, with players granted around three weeks of rest and then just one week back in training before their first match of the campaign against Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Super Cup—an itinerary dictated by their participation in the Club World Cup with 32 teams, culminating in a final against Chelsea in mid-July.

Enrique and his staff were forced to trim the schedule after PSG reached the Club World Cup final, only to lose 3-0 to Chelsea in July.

European Achievement Profits

Beyond the pitch, PSG’s European triumph is translating into profits, notably in jersey sales, which surged in the first quarter of the season thanks to the echoes of last season’s Champions League success.

Le Parisien reports that the 2025-2026 season could see a surge in in-store revenue, potentially surpassing the sales spikes seen when Argentine star Lionel Messi joined PSG in the summer of 2021. Messi spent two seasons in Paris before leaving for Inter Miami in 2023, ending his Paris era on June 30, 2023.

The French daily notes that PSG’s shirt sales peaked between 2021 and 2023 during Messi’s tenure, placing the club among Europe’s top sellers of over a million shirts annually at the time.

They also point out that Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Barcelona remain at the top, but the new quarter shows PSG closing the gap as the season unfolds, with early 2025-2026 data indicating a stronger trajectory for the Parisians.

Initial indicators from Le Parisien suggest a 50% YoY rise in shirt sales from July to September 2025 compared with 2022, the previous peak year. Online sales have jumped by about 217% for the first quarter of the 2025-2026 season, while 80% of PSG’s merchandising still happens on French soil, with overseas growth also notable.

The report concludes that Nike is racing to release a new kit in collaboration with Jordan, one of PSG’s sponsors, before Christmas and the end of the year.

French Ligue 1 Standings and PSG’s Results

By the end of round seven, PSG sit atop Ligue 1 with 16 points, followed by Marseille, Strasbourg, and Lyon with 15 points each. Monaco and Lens sit on 13, while Lille trails in seventh with 11, with Paris FC, Toulouse, and Rennes close behind on 10.

Brest and Nice are level on eight points in 11th and 12th, with Lorient in 13th on seven, and Le Havre and Nantes tied on six in 14th to 16th. Angers hold the relegation spot on five, while Metz languishes bottom with two points in 18th place.

Paris in Ligue 1 and Recent Form

PSG has recorded five wins and one defeat—an early loss to their arch-rivals Marseille in a classic French clash that coincided with the Ballon d’Or ceremony, delayed 24 hours due to weather. A 1-0 win over Nantes and Angers, a 6-3 thrashing of Toulouse, a 2-0 win over Lens, and a 2-0 victory over Saint-Étienne in the latest round highlight their league form.

Their meeting with Lille marked the 105th chapter in this long-running fixture, with PSG holding 45 wins to Lille’s 33 and 27 draws in all competitions. PSG’s aggregate score against Lille stands at 153-112 in their favor, according to Transfermarkt’s data.

PSG’s season has been a blend of resilience and record-chasing, with the club’s merchandising surge mirroring on-field ambitions as they balance a packed schedule across domestic and European commitments.

And with two big objectives in sight—domestic glory and continental success—Paris continues to write the script, even if it means a few more players circling the medical room like a carefully placed sniper’s target list. So far, so dramatic, and yes, the shirt fire is real—so bring a spare jersey if you’re heading to the Parc des Princes for a Saturday afternoon, or you’ll be stuck cheering with a PSG scarf that’s seen as much drama as their injury updates.

But hey, if the players keep getting fit, the headlines stay green, and the jerseys fly off the shelves, you might say Paris is not just chasing trophies, but a souvenir throne in every corner shop. Meanwhile, a footballing proverb remains true: luck is what happens when preparation meets a good cough-and-sprint run from your medical team. And in Paris, even the doctors get a standing ovation when a muscle cooperates with a sprint finish.

"If injuries keep piling up, PSG will have to field a squad of mascots with laminated health cards—at least they’d be cute in the highlights." If you doubt this, just remember: football is a game where a hamstring can decide a season and a jersey can decide a fashion trend. And with Messi gone, perhaps the best new superpower is the power of the merch stand to keep the club financially fresh while the players get back to the pitch.