Paris St-Germain: Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue injuries criticised

Paris St-Germain have accused the France national team of ignoring risks around Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue that led to the pair sustaining “avoidable” injuries during their World Cup qualifying win over Ukraine.

Dembele has been ruled out for around six weeks with a “serious” hamstring injury, while Doue is sidelined for about four weeks, according to the French club.

They are set to miss several key matches, including the opening fixture in the defence of their Champions League title.

In a statement,, external the European champions said they had sent a letter to the French Football Federation calling for a “more transparent and collaborative” coordination on medical protocol between clubs and the national team.

The club said they had “sent the federation concrete medical information, even before the French national team began training, on the acceptable workload and injury risks for its players”.

They added: “The club regrets that these medical recommendations were not taken into account by the French national team’s medical staff and that there was a total lack of consultation with its medical teams.”

PSG said it hoped the “regrettable events” would lead to exchanges between clubs and France’s medical team being documented and a “precautionary principle” followed for players who are called-up while undergoing treatment.

“The recent serious and avoidable events must give rise to rapid and immediate corrective measures,” PSG added.

Forward Dembele replaced the injured Doue at half-time of the 2-0 win on Friday, only to be substituted himself in the 81st minute.

BBC Sport has contacted the French Football Federation for comment.