Dembele absent for PSG's trip to Athletic Club with illness

Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed that Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele will miss their Champions League clash with Athletic Club on Wednesday due to illness. 

Luis Enrique will also be without Lucas Chevalier, Lucas Beraldo and Achraf Hakimi for the trip to Estadio de San Mames due to their respective injury issues. 

Dembele's absence adds to a recent disrupted run of form following a fine 2024-25 campaign, with the Frenchman making just 16 appearances in all competitions this season.

He has still managed to register nine goal involvements (five goals, four assists), with only Joao Neves (11), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (13) and Vitinha (15) managing more for PSG. 

The 28-year-old missed domestic fixtures against Lyon and Le Havre with a calf injury before returning in the Parisiens' 5-3 win over Tottenham in the Champions League. 

Dembele managed just 12 minutes against Spurs, and made further substitute appearances in their defeat to Monaco and 5-0 thrashing of Rennes in Ligue 1. 

Chevalier also misses out after sustaining an ankle injury against Monaco following a tackle from Lamine Camara, meaning Matvei Safonov is likely to start between the sticks. 

Hakimi, meanwhile, faces a race against time to be fit for Morocco's Africa Cup of Nations campaign, having also suffered an ankle injury against Bayern Munich, but Desire Doue has recovered from a thigh issue and is included in PSG's travelling party. 

PSG are second in the 36-team league standings with 12 points from five games, and will be confident of further cementing their place in the automatic qualification spots. 

They have won each of their last three away games against Spanish sides in major European competition, as many victories they managed across their 13 previous away matches against such opponents combined (three - D2 L8).