For a few weeks now, PSG supporters have been eagerly hoping for his return.
In vain for the moment.
Injured in the left knee during a match against Metz (1-0) on September 16, operated on the anterior cruciate ligament 13 days later, Juan Bernat continues his recovery protocol indoors and on the field, but still on the sidelines of its partners.
The Spanish defender is of course not part of the group that will face Angers this Wednesday at the Parc des Princes, and there is little chance that he will be available for a few weeks.
“We are already at the end of my recovery.
We hope that at the end of March or the beginning of April, I will be with the group, ”however explained the left side last February, just after the extension of his contract until 2025.
Present for the last day of Ligue 1?
The truth is that today Bernat, 28, is rather counting on a return to collective training at the beginning of May. This is not the best news for the Parisian staff who could feed the hope of recovering their defender for the final sprint in the league. But if we consider that the former side of Valencia and Bayern Munich will need at least three weeks to find the grounds, the latter could at best play in Ligue 1 or in the Coupe de France in the second half of May. .
This would mean a possible presence for the last day of the championship in Brest, on May 23, or even the final of the Coupe de France, on May 19 at the Stade de France, if PSG qualifies.
And again, we are talking about a Bernat who has not played for eight months.
We understand better why the club has decided not to register its full-back on the list of players likely to play in the finals of the Champions League at the beginning of this year.
Weak competition for his position
As for all the other injured members of the workforce - and even more for Bernat one would be tempted to add - caution has always prevailed in this matter. This is the reason why even if the Spaniard was considering a return with the group at the end of March or the beginning of April, the staff preferred to take all their time with a player who had already had to deplore long absences due to ankle injuries in particular. during his time at Bayern Munich. The native of Cullera is therefore looking more towards next season and the horizon that begins to emerge for him.
In his absence, no element of the workforce has managed to impose itself on his post. Tuchel and Pochettino, the two PSG coaches this season have used three defenders to occupy the left flank of the rearguard. From Kurzawa to Bakker, passing recently through Diallo, none has really won even if the Senegalese international is perhaps the one who has offered the most guarantees in major meetings. But the latter, even if he can help out at the position of left side, aspires to evolve in the axis, his natural positioning and that for which he joined the Senegalese selection. In this context, Bernat has every chance of regaining his leadership and his starting position next season.
