Will the sight of ‘Golden Boy’ Lee Kang-in (22) and Kylian Mbappe (25, Paris Saint-Germain) playing together be postponed to a later date? Lee Kang-in’s name was not on the expected starting list but on the ‘OUT’ list.
PSG will meet Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the Group F group stage of the 2023-2024 UEFA Champions League (UCL) held at Parc des Princes in Paris, France at 4 a.m. on the 20th (Korean time).
This is the first journey to overcome the ‘Group of Death’. PSG was drawn into a group with Dortmund, AC Milan (Italy), and Newcastle United (England). As there is no team that can be taken lightly, a fierce match is expected to be as fierce as ever.
Ahead of the game, PSG announced the roster for the match against Dortmund. Key players including Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Randal Kolo Muani, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Lucas Hernández, Ashraf Hakimi, Milan Skriniar, and Manuel Ugarte were all named.
Lee Kang-in was also included. This is the first roster call in about a month. Lee Kang-in injured his thigh in the match against Toulouse on the 20th of last month. At the time, he started as a starter, but was replaced 6 minutes into the second half, and it was later revealed that he had a problem with his left quadriceps muscle. As a result, Lee Kang-in was excluded from the Klinsmann team, which will play two consecutive international matches in September, and remained in Paris to focus on rehabilitation.
It was his second injury after joining PSG. Lee Kang-in injured his hamstring during a friendly match with Le Havre in the preseason last July. At the time, he played well as a starter in his unofficial debut for PSG, but left the pitch holding the back of his thigh just before half-time. Lee Kang-in was unable to participate in the subsequent Japanese tour, but returned in time for the opening game.
Lee Kang-in collapsed again in his second game, causing concern, but his return is just around the corner. He returned to team training last week, and hinted that he could return soon by posting a photo of himself training and the phrase “SOON” on his personal social media. However, he was excluded from the call-up list for the last match against Nice.
Now, Lee Kang-in sets his sights on a sortie against Dortmund. He was not included in the injured list announced by PSG, raising expectations.
However, there is speculation that Lee Kang-in may take one more game off. There is a possibility that he will take a break and then join Hwang Seon-hong. After this game, Lee Kang-in plans to move to China to participate in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
UEFA omitted Lee Kang-in’s name when predicting the starting lineup for the game through its official website. UEFA predicted that Mbappe-Kolo Muani-Dembele, Vitinha-Ugarte-Warren Jair Emery, Hernández-Škriniar-Marquinhos-Achraf Hamiki, and Donnarumma will form the best 11.
At the same time, Lee Kang-in was placed on the ‘OUT’ list. UEFA predicted that Lee Kang-in would not play along with Presnel Kimpembe, Nuno Mendes, Marco Asensio, and Nordi Mukiele. However, since the reason is not his thigh injury but a ‘colon (absent)’, there is a good chance that the prediction will be wrong.카지노
Lee Kang-in’s name was not visible in the starting lineup predicted by local French media. ‘L’Equipe’, ‘RMC Sport’, and ‘Le Parisien’ all predicted that, like UEFA, Mbappe-Kolo Muani-Dembele, Vitinha-Ugarte-Jair Emery would start.
Of course, the possibility of a replacement cannot be ruled out. Lee Kang-in is a player who can be a great help to PSG if he is in good physical condition. He can play as a winger as well as in the midfield, so he is the first option that manager Luis Enrique considers when thinking about a replacement card. In addition, Asensio is injured, so there are not many attack resources.
If Lee Kang-in plays against Dortmund, he will return to the UCL stage after 4 seasons. He made his UCL debut while playing for Valencia in the 2019-2020 season, making him the youngest Korean ever to do so.