Achraf Hakimi is not expected to be fit to start Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League final against Arsenal on Saturday after being sidelined by a thigh injury, L'Equipe reports.
The decision landed as PSG enter the final three days before kickoff at the Puskas Arena in Budapest — and explains why searches for achraf hakimi spiked as supporters and bettors pressed for the latest on team news ahead of Saturday's match. PSG's squad reconvenes for a high-intensity session on Tuesday, the first time players will be put through their paces since the weekend, and Hakimi is not expected to return to full training until Wednesday.
Those timelines matter because Hakimi has been out since suffering the thigh problem nearly a month ago during the first leg of PSG's Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich. He has not trained fully with the group since that injury, leaving the holders short of a regular source of right-sided attacking thrust at a moment when set-piece margins and quick transitions will decide a one-off final.
PSG are effectively racing to have two key stars available for the match, and the knock-on selection questions are immediate. Ousmane Dembele — the other player under the microscope — told staff and teammates he appears confident he will start the final, yet he was a notable absentee from PSG's recent in-house friendly, which consisted of 20-minute halves. The mismatch between Dembele's public optimism and his absence from that internal runout exposes the same fragility that has surrounded Hakimi: statements of intent collide with limited preparation time and interrupted match practice.
That in-house friendly was set up precisely to give the coaching staff a sense of touch and tempo in a controlled setting; its short format and Dembele's absence illustrate why Tuesday's planned high-intensity session is now far more consequential than a typical midweek workout. For Hakimi, the pathway back is clearly defined — return to full training on Wednesday — but it leaves little room for error. Three days separate a full-group session and the final, and the club must weigh the risk of fielding a player who has missed almost a month of competitive preparation.
PSG's coaching staff will use Tuesday to assess fitness and sharpness across the squad; Hakimi's status will change that assessment from academic to decisive. If he cannot complete the planned return to full training on Wednesday, PSG face a straightforward choice: start without him, or gamble on a late inclusion that would bring him into the final without the normal buildup of training minutes. Given the firm's timeline that places a full return on Wednesday and the proximity of the Saturday final, it is reasonable to conclude Hakimi is unlikely to start unless he reaches that Wednesday marker and shows clear readiness in the days that follow.
