Image Credits: Imago Images
Paris Saint-Germain’s preparations for their Champions League quarter-final showdown with Liverpool have been plunged into late drama.
The Reds are in the French capital having travelled yesterday with a 21-man squad including Alexander Isak, who is in a Liverpool matchday squad for the first time in four months.
But it seems that not all is well within the Luis Enrique’s squad.
In the build-up to the first leg in Paris, the French giants announced on Tuesday that senior midfielder Fabian Ruiz would not be part of the squad to face Liverpool, officially citing continued recovery work away from the group.
The player has been sidelined since January, when what was initially described by the club as a simple bruise to his left knee forced him off in a shock defeat to Sporting CP.
But L’Equipe reporter Loic Tanzi claims that Ruiz’s fitness situation has started to irritate figures inside the club, with officials convinced his knee is now “completely fine” and that he was fit enough to play in their Ligue 1 clash with Toulouse last Friday:
‘There is one certainty, it’s what he says and that he repeats that as long as he is in pain and suffering, he doesn’t want to play,” Tanzi said as translated by the Daily Mail.
“So much that he is in pain and suffering, he doesn’t want to play. At the slightest pain, he doesn’t want to train.”
This stance from Ruiz has reportedly caused frustration from the staff in the PSG camp, with the 30-year-old said to be insistent that he will not play in his current condition.
However, manager Luis Enrique has moved to play down the noise around the Spanish midfielder, saying in his pre-Liverpool press conference:
“We have to wait for the player, there’s no problem. We’re trying to get the players back as soon as possible,” Enrique said.
“We’re still focused on giving the player confidence. Fabian hasn’t trained with the group yet. He’s made a lot of progress, and we’re happy because he seems to be on the right track, but he still needs to do a little more.”
With Liverpool in town and the Champions League entering its decisive phase, the timing of this internal disagreement could hardly be worse for the reigning European champions.
🔴🔵 PSG-Liverpool J-1 : Fabian Ruiz une absence qui dure
🗣️ @Tanziloic : “Le joueur ne se sent pas de s’entraîner” #EDG pic.twitter.com/DTuJPptcXU
— L’ÉQUIPE de Greg (@lequipedegreg) April 7, 2026
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