Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe could recover from injury in time to face Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League, according to a report.
The Parisian giants have been without the 24-year-old for the last three matches after he sustained a thigh injury in the first half of the 3-1 Ligue 1 win at Montpellier at the beginning of this month.
Christophe Galtier's side have since struggled without the presence of Mbappe, as they have lost back-to-back away matches against Marseille and Monaco, losing 3-1 to the former in the Coupe de France before suffering a 2-1 loss to the latter in the league on Saturday.
Mbappe has once again been an influential figure for PSG in front of goal this season, contributing with 25 goals and six assists in 26 appearances across all competitions.
Seven of those strikes have come in just six Champions League group-stage matches, and the Frenchman currently sits at the top of the scoring charts in this season's competition along with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.
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Mbappe was initially facing up to three weeks on the sidelines, which would have ruled him out of PSG's first-leg clash against Bayern Munich at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday, while he would have presumably been a doubt for the second leg in Germany on March 8.
However, according to La Parisien, PSG have been handed a major injury boost as Mbappe took part in a training session on Sunday a week ahead of schedule.
The report adds that Mbappe has also been included in PSG's Champions League squad to face Bayern Munich over two legs.
Mbappe – who is allegedly prepared to hand in a transfer request if PSG fail to reach the quarter-finals – has caused nightmares to Bayern's backline in recent years, scoring three goals in his last four Champions League meetings with the German giants.
The forward netted a brace for PSG at the Allianz Arena in a 3-2 first-leg victory at the quarter-final stage in 2020-21, while he also found the net in a 3-1 group-stage defeat in 2017-18.
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The positive update on Mbappe's fitness comes just a few days after Galtier confirmed that Lionel Messi will be fit to feature against Bayern on Tuesday.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner was forced to miss PSG's last two matches with a hamstring problem, and there were fears that he would not recover in time for their first-leg contest.
However, Galtier revealed last Friday that Messi will resume training on Monday with a view to playing some part against Bayern.
"Leo won't be available for the Monaco game [on Saturday]. He will resume training on Monday, the day before the game against Bayern Munich. So you can leave the term 'doubtful' aside," Galtier told reporters.
"We know the importance of Leo in our game. Because of his absence, we will maybe have to play differently to have a more solid and more compact team."
PSG will have to cope without the services of defender Nordi Mukiele and midfielder Renato Sanches, though, as they continue to recover from hamstring injuries.
Oliver Thomas
