PSG striker Goncalo Ramos set for three months out with ankle ...
Paris Saint-Germain striker Goncalo Ramos will be sidelined for at least three months after suffering a serious ligament injury to his left ankle.
The 23-year-old was forced off the field in the 20th minute of PSG’s 4-1 victory over Le Havre on Friday night and PSG confirmed on Saturday that he would require surgery.
A club statement said Ramos “suffered a serious ligament sprain in his left ankle” which would require surgery. “His unavailability is estimated at around three months.”
The Portugal international was pictured wearing a protective boot after the match and head coach Luis Enrique acknowledged the prognosis was not good. “I’m not a doctor but I think it looks pretty serious,” he said. “I don’t know how many weeks he will be out injured but it’s serious.”
The injury is a big blow for Luis Enrique, and it could well change PSG’s transfer plans.
The French champions are adapting to life without Kylian Mbappe following his transfer to Real Madrid in the summer. Mbappe was PSG’s all-time leading goalscorer and was top scorer last season, with his 44 goals accounting for 37 per cent of their total in all competitions.
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PSG have looked at improving their frontline during this transfer window, with Napoli’s Victor Osimhen among their prominent targets earlier in the summer, although interest in the Nigerian striker appears to have since cooled.
Ramos, an €80million signing from Benfica last year, had become a more regular starter towards the back end of the 2023-24 season and was the next top scorer behind Mbappe.
PSG do have alternative options. His replacement against Le Havre, Randal Kolo Muani, scored a penalty in the 90th minute. However, while Luis Enrique praised the forward post-match, he struggled for regular minutes last season, starting 21 of his 40 appearances in all competitions. He has not always played as a natural No 9 either, sometimes featuring on either flank. Kolo Muani was signed from Frankfurt last summer in a deal that could ultimately be worth €90m.
Kolo Muani scored a late penalty in PSG’s opening day win in Ligue 1 (Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
PSG also have Marco Asensio and Kang-in Lee in their squad and both players have featured as false 9s for Luis Enrique in the past.
Despite losing Ramos, PSG managed to record a 4-1 victory over Le Havre, but it was a misleading margin. Lee Kang-in opened the scoring for the Parisians but Le Havre had two goals disallowed in the match by VAR. Abdoulaye Toure saw an equaliser chalked out for offside in the first half and after Gautier Lloris, brother of former Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo, equalised after half-time, Josue Casimir saw his effort ruled out for handball. That would have given Le Havre a 2-1 lead.
Substitutes Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Kolo Muani secured the points in the final 10 minutes of the match. PSG fielded their youngest ever starting lineup, with an average age of 22 years and 192 days, as well as their youngest starter, Ibrahim Mbaye (16 years, 6 months and 23 days).
New signing Joao Neves marked his debut with two assists, while on Saturday, PSG confirmed the signing of Desire Doue from Rennes, in a deal worth in the region of an initial €50m, plus performance-based add ons.
(Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
Peter Rutzler is a football writer covering Paris Saint-Germain and Fulham for The Athletic. Previously, he covered AFC Bournemouth. He joined The Athletic in August 2019. Follow Peter on Twitter @peterrutzler
