Three weeks after his half-hourly exit from an epic Bayern Munich-PSG (2-3), Marquinhos will be back on Wednesday to face Manchester City at the Parc des Princes in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Unless there is a last-minute relapse this Tuesday during the last training session, the 26-year-old Brazilian defender will return to the Paris group. This Monday, the captain of the French champions participated in the entire session, he who had found his partners last Thursday after his grade 2 injury to the adductors. Twenty-one days is the price to recover from this type of injury, and the international Auriverde has not cut this healing period.
Last weekend, "Marqui" could have made the trip to Metz to scratch a few minutes of play, but the Parisian staff had preferred an extensive training session at the Camp des Loges to consolidate his muscles. Since his case no longer arouses fears, it remains to be seen whether Mauricio Pochettino will decide to establish him.
This is the question that each follower asks, and which is difficult to answer at this stage.
It would also be very surprising if "Pocket" delivers the progress of its thinking this Tuesday at a pre-match press conference.
So far, the Parisian coach has never accelerated the return to the field of his injured.
Against Barcelona, he preferred to do without Neymar in the return match when everything led to believe - the Brazilian himself was convinced - that he was going to start him or at least sit him on the substitute bench. .
It is a line of conduct to which he has not deviated since his arrival and which combines prudence and respect for the hierarchy of formalities.
No worries for Mbappé
The former Tottenham rightly considers that these Champions League meetings require such a profusion of energy and repetition of efforts that it is appropriate for each player to be in total possession of his physical means. But Marquinhos, captain and barometer of this PSG, is not just anyone. Above all, he does not occupy a position of attacker or midfielder where efforts are repeated and often more violent.
Can this encourage Pochettino to twist his philosophy? We doubt it but we will have to scrutinize the weak signals which will allow us to know more in the next 48 hours. The player's state of form, his feelings, his desire, but also the imminence of the return match, from May 4: everything will count at the time of the final decision, Wednesday morning, very likely. And if he were to take place on the bench, the Brazilian defender would, without much doubt, be replaced by Danilo Pereira in central hinge.
For Kylian Mbappé, on the other hand, the choice seems to have already been made. The 22-year-old Parisian striker, victim of a blow to the thigh at the end of the match on Saturday in Metz (3-1), participated in part of the session on Monday at the Camp des Loges before continuing his treatment. His condition does not cause more concern than when he left the field in Saint-Symphorien, and his presence at the kickoff, Wednesday against the Citizens, is not called into question. Even if all this must be validated this Tuesday at 11 am during the final test run of the Parisians. A group of PSG which should be full if we except Juan Bernat, long injured. This configuration, very rare this season, tends to confirm that the planets are aligned before this double shock against Manchester City.
