Lee Kang-in (25, Paris Saint-Germain) is at risk of missing the moment of his third Ligue 1 title. He left with an injury about a month before the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America.
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) officially announced on the 12th (Korea time) on the club website, "Ahead of the Ligue 1 round 29 match against RC Lens, Lee Kang-in, who injured his left ankle in the match against Brest, will carry out indoor training for the next few days."
PSG will play the rescheduled 2025-2026 season Ligue 1 round 29 match against Lens on the 14th at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens, France. It is a match in which they can secure an early championship. With the win over Brest, PSG recorded 73 points (23 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses), maintaining a six-point gap over second-place Lens (67 points). Now PSG will clinch a fifth consecutive league title even with just a draw against Lens.
However, PSG has seen an increase in injured players ahead of the title decider. With Lee Kang-in also out of the squad, he became the seventh injured player following Willian Pacho, Nuno Mendes and Warren Zaire-Emery, who were already in treatment, and Achraf Hakimi, Luca Chevalier and Quentin Engoulvent, who are doing individual training instead of team training.
The injury from the Brest match caught up with him. Lee Kang-in started the home match against Brest at Parc des Princes in Paris on the 11th but was substituted early. He collided with an opponent defender in first-half stoppage time, injuring his ankle and was down for a while, complaining of pain. In the end, Lee Kang-in was replaced by Désiré Duu in the eighth minute of the second half and left the field.
Effectively, Lee Kang-in is set to miss the Lens match. The French outlet Foot Mercato reported, "PSG will be missing another player ahead of the Lens match!" adding, "With Lee Kang-in limited to indoor training, PSG has been hit by injury bad news again. The club medical staff is focusing on returning key players before the title-deciding match against Lens."
VIPSG also noted, "The biggest concern is Lee Kang-in. He is feeling pain in his left ankle from the impact in the match against Brest and will continue indoor training for several days. The likelihood of him playing in the Lens match is very low."
The injury comes at an unfortunate time for Lee Kang-in, who has not been getting opportunities in the UEFA Champions League (UCL). Coach Luis Enrique has excluded him from UCL matches all season and has used him in matches of relatively lower importance. For Lee Kang-in, making an impression in the remaining league schedule was his best chance to hope for UCL final participation, but he has to miss games due to injury.
It is fortunate that the injury does not appear to be serious. Since he can carry out indoor training, there should be no major problem for participation in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America.
The Hong Myung-bo-led side cannot help but be on alert for injury variables among key players. Park Yong-woo and Won Doo-jae have already left due to injury, and Kim Ju-seong's participation has become uncertain. Recently Hwang In-beom tore the ligament in his right ankle and was ruled out for the season, and Kim Min-jae is being managed for a minor knee injury. Now news of Lee Kang-in's injury has also arrived.
Fortunately, Hwang In-beom, Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in are all reported not to be at the level of missing the World Cup. There will be concerns about match fitness, but even the most severely injured Hwang In-beom is expected to return by the early group stage at the latest. Veteran midfielder Lee Jae-sung has also recently returned from a toe fracture and is training. It is also likely that Lee Kang-in will not take long to return to full training.
[Photo] PSG social media.
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