Paris Saint-Germain will be without Ousmane Dembélé and Nuno Mendes when Le Mans arrive at the Parc des Princes on Saturday night, with the two internationals handed time off after a demanding spell of national-team football.
The Ligue 1 fixture kicks off at 20:45, but neither player will be involved after PSG confirmed on Thursday that the decision was made jointly by the coaching staff and sporting management.
Dembélé is scheduled to return to training on Saturday 10 October, with Mendes due back a day later on Sunday 11 October.
International workload behind PSG decision
The Portuguese left-back has started four times for Portugal between 24 September and 4 October, while Dembélé featured in each of France’s four matches during the same period.
The France forward wore the captain’s armband in two of those appearances, adding further responsibility to an already busy international window.
It is not the first occasion this season that PSG have opted to manage Dembélé’s workload. The 2018 World Cup winner was also left out of the squad for the match against Lille at the end of August.
For Saturday, the champions will again protect two key players rather than risk extending their recent run of minutes. Dembélé and Mendes are expected back on the training pitch next weekend as Paris prepare for the next stage of their campaign.
