PSG: why Presnel Kimpembe will be operated on again

2023 will have been a dark year but it ends on a note of hope. Victim of a ruptured Achilles tendon on February 26 on the Vélodrome pitch, Presnel Kimpembe will not see the end of the tunnel against Metz this Wednesday evening at the Parc des Princes. Operated on two days after this nightmarish night in Marseille, the French international had started his rehabilitation at the end of April despite wearing an orthopedic boot.

After a stay in Aspetar, the defender was even one of the first residents of the new PSG Campus at the end of June, along with Nordi Mukiele, who was also convalescing. Back to running, first balls touched in September, the recovery protocol for one of the symbols of PSG is going as planned, with the desire not to rush anything and to leave behind the bad practices that had led him to force his returns to competition.

The pleasure is there, the first sessions are tough but the light at the end of the tunnel finally seems to be visible. Kimpembe thinks he can achieve his goal: to play again before the end of the calendar year even if PSG has not communicated any date for his return to the group. But during the first week of December, the native of Beaumont-sur-Oise goes to London for a visit with James Calder, the trauma and orthopedic surgeon who operated on him.

The world champion now faces a dilemma

Florian Thauvin, Neymar and many other athletes have passed through the hands of this bigwig who carefully observes the evolution of his patients’ injuries. It is in this context that “Presko” is back at his office as PSG explains in its medical bulletin of December. Simple check-up? Not only that. Since his return to training, Kimpembe has still felt pain that fluctuates depending on the day.

And this feeling forces him to postpone his expected return for the last matches of 2023. In recent weeks, the most likely hypothesis was to see him resume with the group at the end of January, beginning of February. A little enchanted interlude against Revel in the Coupe de France, which plays at a lower level (sixth division) and pace has also been suggested even if it no longer seems privileged.

In recent days, journalist Romain Molina claimed that Presnel Kimpembe, who still feels pain in his Achilles tendon, was going to have another operation. This Wednesday, RMC also mentioned this hypothesis.

According to our information, the subject had actually been on the table for several days but the defender took the time to think about it, which his contractual situation made complex. This Wednesday, the capital club announced a double piece of news: Presnel Kimpembe will extend his contract until 2026 and “undergo surgical correction in the coming days, in order to return to competition as soon as possible”. An announcement that seems to have been rushed when it was planned for next week.

Despite these words that seem reassuring, a new intervention should not allow the Parisian number 3 to return to the field in the coming weeks. And the hope of seeing him again by the end of the season remains slim. But for Kimpembe the essential is elsewhere, he will finally be able to solve a problem that he has been dragging around for a long time without worrying about what happens next.