(Reuters) – Paris St Germain head coach Christophe Galtier said injuries sustained by Sergio Ramos and Kylian Mbappe in their 3-1 win at Montpellier on Wednesday were not serious and that they were taken off to manage their workload during a busy schedule.
PSG, who extended their Ligue 1 lead to five points after the win, are due to play five matches between Feb. 4 and 19.
Galtier said that defender Ramos hurt his adductor while forward Mbappe had a knee issue. Both players were substituted in the first half.
“Sergio preferred to leave and not to take risks because of the discomfort he felt in his adductor,” Galtier told a news conference.
“Concerning Kylian, there was a challenge after a dribble, he took a blow on the knee, behind the knee, so on the knee and on the muscle. Is it a bruise, a haematoma? We don’t know yet.
“But also when you look at the run of games obviously he can’t take any risks because we have a very busy schedule. But apparently, it doesn’t seem to be very serious for either player.”
Galtier also said PSG were not at fault for failing to sign Hakim Ziyech on loan from Chelsea on Tuesday’s transfer deadline day after British media reported the deal did not go through because of a hold-up in the paperwork.
“Ziyech … we talked about it that we wanted to get in a player after the departure of Pablo Sarabia. We were looking for a player also capable of playing on the right side of our attack. Unfortunately, it didn’t get done,” he said.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
