PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain gave reassuring news about Achraf Hakimi’s fitness ahead of Sunday’s match against bitter rival Marseille in the French league.
The Morocco right-back limped off the field late in the first half of PSG’s 1-0 win at Brest over the weekend and looked in pain because of an issue with his right thigh.
But PSG said in a statement Monday that he only suffered “a minor right thigh strain.” The club added that Hakimi will undergo treatment over the next two days.
A backheel pass from Ousmane Dembele set up a goal for Ferran Torres five minutes in for PSG. The two-time defending Champions League winners recorded their first Ligue 1 win this season and their first clean sheet.
The win lifted PSG two points above Marseille, which has been struggling after failing to recruit any new player over the summer due to financial constraints.
Known as “Le Classique,” the match between PSG and Marseille became popular during the 1990s when the arrival of prominent stars such as Rudi Voeller and George Weah ignited a strong rivalry. Marseille, the first French team to win the Champions League back in 1993, has fallen well behind since PSG was taken over by Qatari investors in 2011 but the sense of fierce rivalry, on and off the pitch, remains.
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