France coach Didier Deschamps has insisted that his team are not at odds with Paris Saint-Germain after the French champions hit out at the national side over injuries to two of their key players.
PSG pair Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué face layoffs of six and four weeks respectively after sustaining problems in Les Bleus‘ opening World Cup qualifying win in Ukraine on Friday.
The Champions League winners issued a statement on Sunday accusing the France set-up of ignoring “concrete medical information” they had provided “on the workload its players could bear and the risk of injury.”
Dembélé lasted 36 minutes as a second-half substitute during the 2-0 victory before being withdrawn with a hamstring problem and Doué was taken off at half-time with a calf strain.
The duo will now miss the start of PSG’s European title defence, including a trip to Barcelona on Oct. 1.
The issue has overshadowed the build up to France’s next Group D outing against Iceland at PSG’s Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
Speaking at his pre-match news conference, Deschamps said: “What happened is what happened.
“I’m especially sad for Ousmane and Dez [Doué], for the injuries and because we’re losing two important players.
“We did things in a professional, progressive way, as we do with every player, taking into account their feelings.
“Unfortunately, it happened and it concerns two PSG players.
“PSG is not our opponent, never has been, even if we have interests that may diverge and that’s normal. Our only opponent is Iceland and that’s tomorrow.”
Asked if the matter would make him hesitant to select another PSG player in Bradley Barcola, Deschamps said: “I’m the one who makes the decisions, I have my staff, my responsibilities.”
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Deschamps has called up former Bayern Munich forward Kingsley Coman, who now plays for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, to bolster his squad.
They face an Iceland side who opened their qualifying campaign with a 5-0 win in Azerbaijan with Deschamps likely to make further changes for the game.
He said: “My main concern is to see what condition the players are in.
“Changes, yes, it’s likely. Freshness is important, while maintaining what has been done well.
“Iceland have evolved, with a much less direct game. They have evolved in their ability to get out on the ground and build up moves.
“We’re going to have a great battle ahead of us.”
