Hatem Ben Arfa and Marco Verratti again left out of PSG team
Paris Saint-Germain will be without Marco Verratti, Thomas Meunier and Hatem Ben Arfa for their trip to Toulouse on Friday, but Serge Aurier and Layvin Kurzawa have returned to the squad after injury.
Midfielder Verratti again misses out with a calf muscle issue and right-back Meunier has a knee complaint, while coach Unai Emery left out enigmatic attacker Ben Arfa once more as the Spaniard seeks an improved attitude from the France international in training.
Emery welcomes right-back Aurier and left-back Kurzawa into the fold after ankle and thigh injuries respectively. However, there is no space for youth academy graduates Remy Descamps, Christopher Nkunku or Hervin Ongenda.
Despite the absences of those three youngsters, Adrien Rabiot, Alphonse Areola, Presnel Kimpembe and Jean-Kevin Augustin all feature in the 18-man group and Emery revealed his satisfaction at the fertility of the French champions' youth academy.
"PSG have done a great job with the training centre and the players are reaping the rewards," Emery said during his pre-Toulouse news conference at Camp des Loges on Thursday. "If they deserve to play, then they will. It is a good thing for the club."
Emery hit the headlines in France the same day as L'Equipe reported that he told Ben Arfa in training that he is "not Lionel Messi," but when questioned on the subject, the manager stuck with his original standpoint on the issue.
"I say the same thing -- every player is the same to me," Emery said. "After that, I make my decisions concerning the team and the players on who is best prepared to play.
"It was the case on Tuesday and it will be the case again for Toulouse. I will decide [on Ben Arfa] this afternoon."
Verratti's frequent absence through injury over the past week or so has journalists in France concerned, but Emery moved to allay fears that the Italy international could have another long-term problem.
"Verratti started to do some things yesterday but for the moment, I do not know if he will be able to to take part in full training with the squad today," Emery admitted. "We will see if he is ready to play tomorrow."
The team news made clear that he was not ready enough, but the Basque tactician confirmed Verratti remains "important" and his "quality benefits the team" particularly when "on the ball."
"The season is long and there will be a lot of matches," Emery said. "When he started to play a lot of games, with the national team as well, there is a possibility there was some muscle fatigue after being injured for so long.
"Because of that, we must look at how many minutes he played in the past and how many he will play in the future. I believe it is a minor injury though. We will assess when to bring him back, tomorrow or in next week's European match or against Bordeaux."
