Teenage midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery is to miss “several weeks” for Paris Saint-Germain with an ankle injury suffered in France’s record-breaking rout of Gibraltar on Saturday, according to national team coach Didier Deschamps.
Zaïre-Emery, 17, sustained the injury scoring on his international debut, when he became France’s youngest goal scorer in over a century. A defender trod on his right ankle as he was shooting into the top corner.
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Deschamps said that tests showed no fracture but that Zaïre-Emery will need time to recover.
“It’s still a significant injury that will certainly take several weeks [to heal],” Deschamps told French television show Téléfoot on Sunday. “You never want to lose players in matches like this. It could have been more serious.”
The injury means Zaïre-Emery will be out for PSG’s final two Champions League group stage matches, as well as Ligue 1 fixtures against Monaco, Le Havre and Nantes.
PSG have lost two of their four games in Group F and sit in second place, one point behind leaders Borussia Dortmund and one ahead of AC Milan in third.
PSG host Newcastle at Parc des Princes on Nov. 28 and then travel to play Dortmund on Dec. 13.
Zaïre-Emery is the latest prodigy to break into the national team and, at 17 years and 255 days, became France’s youngest player since 1914.
He has played every minute of PSG’s Champions League campaign, and impressed when PSG beat Milan 3-0 late last month, providing two assists.
