Paris Saint-Germain’s Ballon d’Or-winning forward, Ousmane Dembélé, is set to make a long-awaited return from injury as his club prepares to face Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League. A source close to PSG told AFP on Monday that Dembélé, who has been sidelined for six weeks, has been cleared to rejoin full training and could feature in Tuesday’s high-profile clash in Germany.
His return is a massive boost for manager Luis Enrique, who has been dealing with a long list of injuries this season, affecting both squad depth and attacking options. Dembélé’s absence has been felt in recent matches, with PSG relying heavily on Kylian Mbappé and new signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to maintain their attacking rhythm.
The 28-year-old French winger suffered a hamstring injury while on international duty with France in early September. The setback came during France’s friendly match against Croatia, where Dembélé limped off after making a sharp sprint down the right flank. Following medical assessments, the French Football Federation confirmed a grade-two hamstring strain, ruling him out for several weeks.
He was sent to a specialist recovery clinic in Doha, Qatar, where PSG often sends players for rehabilitation under close supervision. His recovery was carefully managed, and he returned to light training at the Camp des Loges training center last week before joining full team sessions over the weekend.
Dembélé’s fitness issues have been a recurring theme throughout his career. Since his early days at Borussia Dortmund, the French winger has been known as one of Europe’s most skillful and unpredictable attackers but also one of the most injury-prone. After his record transfer to Barcelona in 2017, Dembélé endured multiple hamstring and muscle injuries, missing nearly 100 games over four seasons.
According to data from Transfermarkt and reports by Marca, Dembélé has suffered more than 13 separate injuries since 2017, most of them muscle-related. His recurring hamstring problems have often been blamed on his explosive pace and the intense physical demands of top-level football. PSG’s medical staff have since designed a personalized fitness program to help prevent further relapses.
Despite these setbacks, Dembélé’s talent has never been in doubt. Before his latest injury, he had started the new Ligue 1 season brightly, contributing assists and key passes that showed glimpses of the form that won him the 2024 Ballon d’Or. His ability to glide past defenders, create scoring chances, and bring unpredictability to PSG’s attack made him one of Luis Enrique’s most trusted players.
His return comes at a crucial moment for PSG, who are currently balancing domestic fixtures with their quest to defend the Champions League title they won last season. Dembélé was notably absent during PSG’s thrilling 3–3 draw with Strasbourg last Friday, but club sources have confirmed he will travel with the squad to Germany.
On Saturday, PSG released images of Dembélé participating fully in training, alongside fellow forwards Desire Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, both of whom recently returned from their own injury spells. However, the French champions are still without midfield duo Fabian Ruiz and João Neves, who continue to recover from muscle issues.
Some French outlets, including L’Équipe, also reported that club captain Marquinhos had joined the traveling party for the Leverkusen match, raising hopes of a more balanced squad selection. “I don’t know when all the injured players will be back,” Luis Enrique said last Thursday, “but we won’t take unnecessary risks with their health. It’s better to lose a game than lose a player for three months.”
Paris Saint-Germain head into the game in good form, having made a strong start to their Champions League defense with back-to-back wins against Atalanta and Barcelona. Their opponents, Bayer Leverkusen, are unbeaten in the competition so far, drawing against FC Copenhagen and PSV Eindhoven, and currently sit second in Group D.
Dembélé’s potential inclusion gives PSG a crucial creative edge and injects optimism into a squad eager to maintain its European dominance. For both Dembélé and PSG, the match against Leverkusen represents more than just a Champions League fixture — it’s a test of resilience, recovery, and redemption for a player whose brilliance has too often been interrupted by injury.