New images from the Canal+ broadcast of PSG vs. Chelsea (5-2) suggest that Ousmane Dembélé's substitution may have been linked to a minor physical issue. And this even though his coach assured him after the match that he would be there for the return leg.

Back in PSG's starting lineup for the round of 16 first leg against Chelsea on Wednesday evening after practically three weeks without a match due to a troublesome left calf, Ousmane Dembélé logically did not finish the game. In the 69th minute, his coach decided to replace him with Lee Kang-in while the score was only 2-2. A change that was overall rather logical for a player who had only played half an hour in the previous match against Monaco after three weeks in the infirmary because of that famous calf that has kept him out of many matches this season.

After the match, when questioned on the subject, his coach, Luis Enrique, assured that the PSG No. 10 did not suffer from any physical problem, that it was purely a matter of minute management, and that he would be there for the return leg at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday. A reassuring version, but possibly contradicted by images broadcast a few days after the match by Canal+.

Although Luis Enrique assured that the player was not substituted for physical reasons, the images show him holding the side of his right leg near the knee a few minutes before leaving the field. The player then stretches for a few moments and seems to test himself.

The channel's production shows immediately after a grimace from his coach, who immediately consults his assistant, Rafel Pol, then appears to make the substitution right after.

With the images edited without timing specified, it is difficult to know exactly what happened at that moment in the match; no dialogue is captured or transcribed to accompany the images, and the coach's comments do not point to a serious issue. Nevertheless, Dembélé came off just after this scene, walking calmly before joining the bench, and not the locker room to be examined.

Another reassuring element: PSG did not release any medical update the day after the match, as they had after the injury-related exits of Hakimi, Kvaratskhelia, or even Nuno Mendes in certain matches during the Champions League campaign in previous months. Moreover, it is not the famous left calf of Ousmane Dembélé that is affected, but rather the right leg, which therefore rules out, at least a priori, a relapse for the Parisian striker.

Now, it will be necessary to monitor the players' presence at training, but the players were resting on Friday, while Dembélé was, logically, in a recovery session on Thursday, the day after the match. At the end of the game, other images show him celebrating with his teammates without issue.

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