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Lucas Hernandez Suffers Season-Ending ACL Injury, Will Miss Euro 2024

Lucas Hernandez suffered a torn ACL in the first leg of Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League semi-final matchup with Borussia Dortmund. The defender will miss six-to-seven months and subsequently the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament, PSG announced May 2.

"An MRI scan carried out today confirmed the diagnosis made by the club's doctors on Wednesday evening. The player will undergo surgery in the next few days. A further update will follow," PSG said in a medical update.

Hernandez was forced off because of the injury in the 42nd minute of the first leg. He was replaced by Lucas Beraldo. The centerback will miss the rest of the season for PSG, though the Ligue 1 title is already wrapped up. Luis Enrique will have to figure out his new backline fast if the club hopes to advance to the final.

Medical update - Lucas Hernández.@Aspetar https://t.co/CUfstyrFEF
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) May 2, 2024

Lucas Hernandez Suffers Torn ACL, Will Miss Euro 2024

Also of note due to the length of recovery, Hernandez will now miss the Euro 2024 tournament. There aren't necessarily a shortage of top-tier French defenders in Europe, but Hernandez was still a vital part of the squad. He's also versatile notably starting every match of France's victorious 2018 World Cup campaign.

He featured in two of France's last four Euro matches in 2020. His 2022 World Cup campaign saw him start at LB in a 4-1 win over Australia in Group D, but a cruciate ligament tear kept him out of the rest of the competition. That injury also kept him out of most of the qualifiers for Euro 2024, though he did play CB three times in wins against Ireland and Netherlands, and a draw against Greece.

As Enrique figures out how to turn around the Champions League tie, Didier Deschamps also needs to figure out his backline come the summer. As mentioned, the manager has plenty of options including William Saliba, Jules Kounde and Ibrahima Konate. France is still a favorite to win the tournament and likely eager for glory considering how close Les Bleus came to upending Lionel Messi and Argentina's dream ending in 2022.

1 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Devastatingly Unlucky Sequence for PSG Could Come Back to Haunt UCL Dreams

PSG was held scoreless during the first leg of its UEFA Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, as the team failed to put one past Gregor Kobel during what was a 1–0 defeat.

During the 52nd minute, the Parisian side was left in despair after a series of excellent looks on goal from Kylian Mbappé and Achraf Hakimi ricocheted off either post.

Mbappé opened things up with a beautiful shot that got past the extended reach of Kobel but deflected off the far post. Mbappé received the rebound and attempted another shot, which was blocked, but bounced favorably for Hakimi, who charged in with a shot of his own.

Hakimi's attempt drilled off the left post and rolled across the front of the goal, still somehow not crossing the goal line. The ball was recovered along the end line and whipped back into the center of the field, where Mbappé raced forth but narrowly missed out on a leaping header.

RIGHT POST. LEFT POST. A FLYING ATTEMPTED HEADER!
Mbappé and Hakimi come so close for PSG 😱 pic.twitter.com/inLUbDm46Q
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 1, 2024

That trio of missed opportunities were PSG's best goalscoring chances of the game, and they failed to capitalize. They'll be back at the Parc des Princes for the second leg on Tuesday, May 7, where they'll look to overcome the 1–0 deficit and pull off the comeback win to secure a spot in the Champions League final.