Ousmane Dembélé said he expects to be ready for the Champions League final on May 30th after missing Paris Saint-germain F.c.’s in-house friendly on Saturday, while Achraf Hakimi remained sidelined with a thigh injury that has kept him out for almost a month.
Dembélé, who was substituted during the first half of PSG’s Ligue 1 finale against Paris FC last weekend, did not take part in the two 20-minute halves of the internal match. He told reporters: "I’m doing very well. I had a slight scare against Paris FC, but I’m fine and I’ll be ready for the final" and added, "Will I be 100 per cent for the final? Yes, I think so. Yes, I’ll be ready. I have no doubt about it. I hope to be on the pitch on May 30th."
Hakimi, meanwhile, has not trained since suffering a thigh problem during the Champions League semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich almost a month ago and missed the second leg and the final four Ligue 1 matches. He was not involved in the in-house fixture on Saturday and is not expected to return to team training until Wednesday — three days before the final and two days before the squad travel to Hungary.
The short session on Saturday was designed to sharpen match rhythm without risking late injuries: two 20-minute halves and an eye on recovery for several players. Dembélé offered a blunt explanation for his absence from that drill: "I've had so many minor scares or major injuries in my career, whether here at PSG or even before, especially with the big matches coming up, especially this final, I preferred to stop and above all not take any risks."
The absence of Hakimi from the weekend preparations deepens a selection problem for the manager. A French sports daily has suggested Hakimi is unlikely to start and at best would be fit only for the bench, and another report has floated the possibility that Warren Zaïre-Emery could be pressed into service at right-back if the full-back is unavailable.
Those two facts — Dembélé's guarded optimism and Hakimi's prolonged layoff — are the practical headache for PSG as they finalise plans for Budapest. Arsenal, who wrapped up the Premier League title the week before the final, arrive as domestic champions; PSG sealed the French championship last weekend, but winning the league has not eased the tactical choices ahead of Saturday.
The immediate weight of the story is simple and numeric: Hakimi has been out since the semi-final first leg almost a month ago, Dembélé missed the first half of the Ligue 1 finale and did not participate in Saturday’s 20-minute halves session, and Hakimi is not expected back in training until Wednesday. Those constraints leave little time for a full fitness assessment before the squad departs.
The tension is this: Dembélé insists he will be ready and has downplayed the scare against Paris FC, yet he skipped the low-risk internal match; Hakimi’s recovery timetable points to a bench role at best, but a manager trying to protect his best defensive balance may still gamble on a late return. If Hakimi cannot start, the team will either reorganise the back line or turn to a younger, less experienced option at right-back.
Given the timelines — a return to training three days before the final and travel two days before the match — PSG are most likely to travel with a cautious squad plan that preserves Dembélé as a probable option and treats Hakimi as a last-minute addition rather than a starter. That approach hands the immediate tactical initiative to whoever lines up at right-back on Saturday, and it may be the single decisive choice in a final that both clubs have been preparing for all season.
