Football
Ian Holyman, France correspondent 9y

Zlatan Ibrahimovic to miss Lille game as heel injury flares up - reports

Zlatan Ibrahimovic will miss Paris Saint-Germain's league game at Lille on Wednesday as Le Parisien raised concerns the Swedish star's troublesome recent heel injury has flared up again.

Ibrahimovic, 33, was sidelined for seven weeks from late September until early November with a left heel problem that Sweden national team and Paris medical staff struggled to resolve.

Last season's Ligue 1 leading scorer has played every minute of his club's last two league games, but has officially been "rested" for the short trip to Lille. And, with another domestic encounter -- at home to Nantes on Saturday -- to come before next week's Champions League trip to Barcelona, Ibrahimovic may not feature again until Laurent Blanc's men arrive at the Camp Nou.

In his prematch news conference on Tuesday, Blanc, 49, had said: "I would be an idiot to deprive myself of [Ezequiel] Lavezzi and Ibrahimovic. You have two guys who score goals, it would be idiotic, and it will not be the case."

Only Lavezzi, however, will make the trip to Lille. Le Parisien reported on Wednesday that after showing the Swedish king and queen around the Parc des Princes on Tuesday, Ibrahimovic trained with the first-team squad, but added that he is still feeling the injury which has caused him so much trouble already this season.

Though victory at the Stade Pierre Mauroy will take PSG top of the table -- they are unbeaten in 21 competitive outings this season, having won the last nine -- Blanc's men have been criticised for the quality of their play.

Midfielder Blaise Matuidi said injuries to key players, such as Thiago Silva and Ibrahimovic, had had a negative impact on the team's ability to match the attractive football that swept them to the Ligue 1 title with a record points tally last season.

"Find me another team that has nine wins in a row. There can be criticism, but you can't go too far either," Matuidi argued in an interview with RMC. "We have struggled to have the same XI out on the pitch. It's true that last year, even with turnover, we maintained the quality.

"But this season we have never had a full squad, so it's difficult to do that. When certain players do return, they haven't played for a while so they have to get their form back. Once we get that balance back, I think it'll be better."

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