Christophe Galtier will make a late call on whether to use Kylian Mbappe in Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League last-16 first leg against Bayern Munich.
Mbappe had been ruled out of the match after sustaining a hamstring injury against Montpellier on February 1 that was expected to sideline him for three weeks.
While he came through his first training session back unscathed, Galtier will not risk the 24-year-old unless he feels ready to play a part.
“He’s done everything possible to make himself available for this match,” Galtier said during a press conference on the eve of the game. “He’s trained the day before the match and felt good.
“We’ll see tomorrow morning how he feels. The first person I’ll listen to will be Kylian, then I’ll make the wisest decision. He won’t be on the bench to make up the numbers.”
Mbappe trained with superstar forwards Lionel Messi and Neymar, who are both expected to start against Bundesliga leaders Bayern.
“I’m surprised to see him back, yes. But we know Kylian’s ability to recover faster than some,” Galtier added.
“He trained as part of the team and was there for the whole session. His post-training feedback is very positive. But whether he’ll be on the team sheet, I don’t know.”
Mbappe has contributed to 57 goals (34 goals and 23 assists) in 50 Champions League games since making his PSG debut in 2017.
No other player in the competition has been able to total 20 goals and 20 assists during that time.
At Monday’s press conference, Neymar sat next to Galtier and expressed his hope that his teammate would be able to join Messi and him in the frontline.
“He’s an extremely important player, a great player,” Neymar said. “When the three of us are together, we feel very strong. He told me he felt good. These are good signs.”
PSG has struggled without Mbappe; they lost to Marseille last week in the Coupe de France semifinals and then fell to Monaco 3-1 on Saturday in Ligue 1.
Galtier is already under pressure just seven months after taking over, with the Champions League now taking on even more importance for the former Lille and Nice boss.
Galtier is optimistic that his team will perform at a high level despite the intense pressure of the two-leg, blockbuster match between the current league champions of France and Germany.
“There is always pressure when you are a PSG coach, even more so in the Champions League,” he said. “I don’t think about my future at all. I am determined.
“The team I field tomorrow will look different to the one against Monaco. In these major games, I know my players know how to raise their level of play and their standards.”
Bayern has prevailed five times over PSG in their previous 11 meetings, all of which have taken place in the Champions League. PSG has beaten Bayern in six of those matches.
“It’s 50-50,” Galtier said when asked who are the favourites to advance. “It’s the Champions League. My players are used to these big meetings.
“No side will go through at the end of the first match, but I know I now have a more complete squad than previously in the competition.”
