France coach Deschamps defends decision to play Dembélé, Doué after PSG stars pick up injuries

PARIS (AP) — France coach Didier Deschamps has defended his decision to play Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué in a recent World Cup qualifier where both Paris Saint-Germain stars were injured.

They are expected to be out for several weeks and likely to miss titleholder PSG's first two matches of the Champions League, at home to Atalanta and away at Barcelona.

“PSG is not our opponent, it never has been, even if we have interests that may diverge. Our only opponent is Iceland,” Deschamps said Monday ahead of Tuesday's World Cup qualifier. "We did things professionally, progressively, as we do with every player, taking into account how they feel. Unfortunately, this happened and it concerns two PSG players.”

Deschamps was speaking a day after PSG wrote a letter to the French Football Federation complaining about the injuries sustained by Dembélé and Doué last Friday. PSG’s letter urgently called for a " more transparent and collaborative " medical protocol between club and country.

Dembélé will be sidelined for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury and Doué is out for around four weeks with a calf strain.

However, Deschamps insists his medical staff properly assessed both players before allowing them to train and then play against Ukraine.

But Deschamps was asked if PSG's anger over the two injuries means he will not risk selecting PSG winger Bradley Barcola against Iceland.

“Then I will have Bayern calling me (about a player), Real Madrid calling,” Deschamps said, smiling. “I'm the one who makes the decisions, I have my staff, my responsibilities. I always take into account the players’ feelings.”

France midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is also France star Kylian Mbappé's teammate at Real Madrid, defended Deschamps and said injuries were part of the game.

“If a player feels it's difficult for him to play because there’s a very high risk, the coach has always been understanding. He's not stupid,” Tchouaméni said on Monday. "Sometimes problems (injuries) happen when you're with the national team.” ___

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