Franck Fife/AFP/Getty ImagesPSG manager Carlo Ancelotti, left, may have to turn the captaincy over to Mamadou Sakho, right, with Thiago Silva out for three weeks

2013 hardly started the way that Carlo Ancelotti would have liked. His Paris Saint-Germain side ambled to a goalless draw with Ligue 1 minnows Ajaccio last Friday, injury-prone but important midfielder Thiago Motta picked up a red card, and to add insult to injury, centre-back and captain Thiago Silva will now miss three weeks with a thigh injury.

While the Italian manager will not be pushing the panic button just yet, the absence of Silva causes a number of problems. Motta's absence can be offset by a wealth of talented midfield options from the bench, including compatriot Marco Verratti. The 20-year old has been waiting for a chance to get back into Ancelotti's first-team plans since losing his place to Motta - now it seems he will have two or three games to stake his claim once more. But while Silva's absence can be compensated for in terms of manpower, there are precious few alternatives to the Brazilian in terms of leadership right now.

Normally, that would not be a problem, but approaching difficult clashes with Bordeaux (Sunday), Lille and Toulouse, PSG are heading into fixtures that will require strong on-field leadership. Mamadou Sakho and Christophe Jallet have captained the side at various points this season but neither have excelled. Heading to Bordeaux, where the capital club have not won since 2005, is not the time to take risks.

There can be no doubt about Sakho’s future credentials as captain, but for now he is better off learning from Silva and his teammates. Jallet on the other hand is not guaranteed to start in each game, and even when he does, his claims to the captaincy are weaker given his limited experience.

The options available to Ancelotti are to either hand the captain’s armband to Sakho or Jallet depending on who is selected and stick with tried-and-tested methods, albeit an unsatisfactory compromise. Or the Italian could take a different approach and give the captaincy to Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the duration of Silva’s injury if he is looking for a player to lead by example. Ibra has experience in the role at international level and the pressure of being leader in such a big game is unlikely to faze the Swede as much as it would the Frenchmen.

Motta’s absence - having only just overcome a long injury layoff - is frustrating for Carletto because the Italian international’s considerable experience would have no doubt made him a candidate to take on the role while Silva recovers. One other option is to pick Alex, Silva’s preferred partner at centre-back who offers a blend of experience and authority while also able to set a good example for Sakho to follow. Communication may be something of an issue, but no more than under Silva, who has not been in France as long as Alex.

Since Silva’s arrival, there has been much speculation as to who the Brazilian’s correct centre-back partner should be. This injury gives Ancelotti the chance to play the two candidates together and to compare their contributions before making an informed decision. Only then can the Italian consider what he had seen from them prior to the injury and pick PSG’s long-term centre-back pairing with that knowledge.

Defence has been the capital club’s Achilles heel at times this season and travelling to the Stade Chaban-Delmas - where Ancelotti’s side have shipped 10 goals and scored just once in their last six visits - makes finding a solution urgent. Given Lyon’s victory over Troyes last weekend, PSG can’t afford to fall further than two points behind. With les Girondins breathing down their necks, the next three games are vital for Ancelotti’s men.

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