The Albany Gazette - PSG hopeful on Mbappe fitness for Bayern Champions League showdown

After Mbappe suffered the injury in a domestic league game against Montpellier on February 1, the French champions said he would be out for three weeks.

But he has trained over the last two days and has been named in a squad of 22 players for the last 16, first leg in Paris along with Lionel Messi and Marco Verratti, both of whom sat out the 3-1 defeat at Monaco at the weekend with injuries.

"I didn't think he was going to train alone yesterday, but following all the exchanges we had with our performance analysts and medical staff we decided that, considering he felt ok, he could train with the team today," coach Christophe Galtier told reporters at the Parc des Princes on Monday.

However, Galtier said there were no guarantees that the 24-year-old, who scored seven goals in six matches during the group stage, would even be on the bench for the game.

"He trained well and the feedback is positive but it is not yet sure that he will be on the teamsheet. We will look at things tomorrow morning," Galtier insisted.

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann had previously suggested PSG were playing mind games when they announced the France superstar would not be fit for the first leg.

"I am preparing for the game as if he is going to play," Nagelsmann said last week.

Yet Galtier denied that PSG were considering naming Mbappe as a substitute just to frighten their opponents in a repeat of the 2020 Champions League final, won 1-0 by the Germans in Lisbon.

"No, if he is on the teamsheet it will be to play, but I don't know how long it would be for," said the coach.

Qatari-owned PSG are seeking to stay on course to win the Champions League for the first time.

They have been knocked out in the last 16 in four of the last six seasons, including 12 months ago when they lost to eventual winners Real Madrid.

The second leg of the tie will be played in Munich on March 8.

(A.Berg--BBZ)