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

May 2, 2024 Jimm Sallivan

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

Harry Kane Explains How He Blocked Out Jude Bellingham ‘Mumbling’

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane revealed Jude Bellingham had no chance of putting him off as he prepared to take his penalty against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

The game at the Allianz Arena ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw, with Kane's penalty and Leroy Sane's first goal since October cancelling out a brace from Vinicius Junior.

Kane registered his 43rd goal of the season, punishing Lucas Vazquez's clumsy challenge on Jamal Musiala, but before he stepped up to take the spot kick, Bellingham attempted to have a word in the ear of his England teammate.

Referee Clement Turpin quickly ushered Bellingham out of the area, but Kane revealed after the game that he'd barely registered what the Ballon d'Or contender had said.

"I don't know what he was saying. I saw him mumbling something," Kane said. "Once I'm in that moment, I'm in my zone, trying to block everyone out. I'm sure he was saying something to try to put me off."

Kane's successful conversion helped Bayern turn the game around in the space of three minutes. Vinicius had capitalised on poor defending from Kim min-jae to give Madrid the lead in the first half before Sane rocketed a shot past Andriy Lunin at his near post. Bayern were unable to hold on though, with Kim making another mistake when hauling down Rodrygo to concede a penalty.

On the overall result, Kane continued: "A little disappointed. Once we got 2-1 ahead we had two or three good chances.

“This is the Champions League semi-final. We expected a tough game. Real are one of the best teams in Europe who can punish you with one or two actions. All to play for next week. We know we can have chances next week we just have to take them.

‌"We started on the front foot. Their goal came against the run of play. We struggled to play our game. Second half we played with a higher intensity. We deserved our two goals, shame we couldn't get a third.

"It's not a one-off year I'm here for. Of course at the start of the season the expectation was to win trophies. The Champions League is the biggest one. If we can somehow get our hands on that one it would be an amazing season.

1 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Real Madrid Stars Go Wild for Ability of Timeless Toni Kroos

Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo couldn't hide their admiration for the ability of Toni Kroos after his defence splitting pass helped Real Madrid open the scoring against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal clash.

The German's slide rule through ball took advantage of poor decision making from Bayern defender Kim Min-jae, allowing Vinicius to zip in behind and slide home the opening goal of an exhilarating contest at the Allianz Arena.

It was a moment of real quality from 34-year-old Kroos, who was once again tasked with pulling the strings in Madrid's midfield despite his advancing years.

Kroos' high performance level inevitably raised the question of whether or not Madrid will look to extend his contract beyond this summer, and it certainly appears that a longer stay would be welcomed by Vinicius and Rodrygo judging by their post-match comments.

"Toni always makes things easy," Vinicius told Movistar. "He gifted me a goal. We practice a lot together in training. I know Toni very well, and he knows me. I'm very happy to have scored two goals. Now we need a magic night at home."

😘 pic.twitter.com/S9xYLcLwq2
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) April 30, 2024

In reply, Kroos told Real Madrid's official website of his two-goal teammate: “Players like him always give you the possibility to make passes. He's not only quick, he's also clever and knows how and when to move. He's done well and it's his quality to get into space. “It's difficult to stop him there.”

Kroos also drew praise from Rodrygo, who drew the foul that saw Vinicius level the tie at 2-2 from the penalty spot, as he remarked: "What a pass! Incredible, Age doesn't matter. [Kroos] has always got that skill, that class that I love to see."

14-time Champions League winners Madrid would now appear to have the upper hand heading into next week's second leg clash at the Santiago Bernabeu. But Carlo Ancelotti's side will know not to look past the Bavarian giants, who last lifted the trophy in 2020, especially as they fought back from being 1-0 down to take a 2-1 lead through Leroy Sane and Harry Kane.

"It's going to be a really special game," Kroos added of the upcoming Bernabeu duel. "It's going to be the most important match of the season."

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.

US Sports News

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

Lucas Hernandez Suffers Torn ACL, Will Miss Euro 2024

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Jimm Sallivan