Substituted at halftime after complaining of right thigh pain, Desire Doue nevertheless assured after PSG vs. Metz (3-0) that his replacement was only precautionary, not an injury. A version supported by the club.

A wide victory, a massive but successful turnover, attackers scoring, the evening was almost perfect for PSG against Metz. Almost, because one Parisian player was yet again substituted due to injury this Saturday night, and not the least. At halftime, Desire Doue was replaced by Ibrahim Mbaye, and the last images of the evening's first scorer were hardly positive.

Captured by Ligue 1+, they showed Doue heading back to the locker room at halftime, touching the inside of his right thigh, while signaling to the bench that he would probably have to come out and that someone should go warm up. A few minutes later, the No. 14 was indeed replaced by Mbaye, spending the second period quietly on the bench.

At the final whistle, Desire Doue even answered questions from the match broadcaster, explaining that "it was very important to win tonight. We saw Lens' match just before, we saw that they lost, we took back first place tonight, and we have to keep it now." But it was his injury that made him most anxious, and Doue assured, "Really, it's prevention, everything is fine."

In the press conference a few minutes later, Luis Enrique also gave a very similar speech about his young player when asked about his case: "He has nothing, he was a little tired, he played well, and at that moment, when he showed a little fatigue, we decided to change him. He has nothing; he is perfect. Pain? No."

Answer in a few days, with the return playoff against Monaco coming very quickly, as soon as Wednesday night.

Join The Conversation

Roundtablesports is Free to join! You can post your own thoughts, comment on articles, and start conversations with our Roundtable Writers. Scroll up to the top of the page and click 'Join'.

Download the FREE Roundtable APP, and get even easier access to your favorite teams and news!