Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and captain Marquinhos were added to Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League squad list on Monday following return from injury.
The duo’s return for Tuesday’s league stage match will be a welcome boost for coach Luis Enrique, whose team has struggled with injuries this season.
Dembele, 28, has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury while on international duty with France in early September.
Dembele, the newly crowned Ballon d’Or winner had been rehabilitating at a specialist clinic in Qatar before returning to training last week.
Dembele missed PSG’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Strasbourg on Friday, but he might play a role in Germany as the European champions want to make it three wins from three in the Champions League this season.
“It’s always good when you get players back in the squad,” PSG’s Warren Zaire-Emery told reporters.
“Especially key ones who are there to push us,” the midfielder added.
“I would say he (Demebele) is a leader, even if he doesn’t speak up much,” Emery added.
Leverkusen center back and Dembele’s France squad teammate Loic Bade stated that there was “no secret recipe” for stopping the PSG attacker, describing him as “a complete player with several qualities.”
“He won the Ballon d’Or—of course he’s got a lot of quality. He’s good with both feet. I don’t think he’s got a weak side.
“You need to think as a team, defend as a team, and be as compact with your teammates as possible.”
PSG welcomed back forward Desire Doue and substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in their match against Strasbourg.
PSG are currently without midfielders Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves, but center-back Marquinhos, who suffered a thigh injury and last played for PSG on September 22, has traveled to Germany with the team.
Leverkusen manager Kasper Hjulmand, who took over when former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was fired in September following only two league games, described PSG’s high-energy push as both “a weapon” and “a risk.”
“They’re a super team who have developed further since last year.
“We have a lot of quality in our team, and we want to show it. We’ve got trust in our game.”
Leverkusen, the Bundesliga winners in 2024, drew their first two Champions League games against FC Copenhagen and PSV Eindhoven.
PSG’s coach, Luis Enrique, praised this week’s opponents.
“Leverkusen have recruited a lot and have a new coach,” he said.
“They have quality, know how to defend deep, and also press,” he added.
