Lens will return to a charged Bollaert on Friday night, but Lyon will do so without the defender who has become the reference point of their back line. Moussa Niakhaté has been ruled out of the Ligue 1 restart after suffering a hamstring injury while away with Senegal.
The left-footed centre-back will miss Lyon’s trip to Lens, scheduled for 20:45 on Friday following the three-week international break. His absence removes a major defensive leader for OL in a demanding away fixture.
Niakhaté did not feature in Senegal’s 1-0 win over Comoros on Sunday. He had already left the national-team camp last Thursday to undergo examinations after picking up the problem.
Before the injury, the 29-year-old had played in the first two matches of Patrick Vieira’s tenure as Senegal coach. Vieira handed Niakhaté the captaincy for the 1-1 draw in Mozambique, before he also took part in the 1-0 victory in Ethiopia.
A European doubt remains
Lyon are also waiting to discover whether Niakhaté can recover in time for their Europa League home meeting with Crystal Palace on Thursday, 15 October. For now, his availability for that match remains uncertain, leaving OL to manage a key period without clarity over their defensive leader.
