France Coach Deschamps Defends Playing Injured Dembele in Ukraine Qualifier

France coach Didier Deschamps has defended his decision to play Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele in the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine despite injury concerns, asserting that Dembele was considered fit based on medical assessments and the player's own feedback. Dembele was substituted late in the match after suffering a hamstring injury, leading to criticism from PSG, which accused the French Football Federation of ignoring medical warnings and called the injury serious and avoidable. Deschamps emphasized that the injury was on a different thigh than a previous issue Dembele had with PSG and denied any conflict between club and country interests, noting that the player's fitness was professionally assessed. Both Dembele and teammate Desire Doue were injured during the international duty, with expected absences of six and four weeks respectively, causing concern for PSG ahead of upcoming Ligue 1 and Champions League fixtures. France's victory over Ukraine saw Kylian Mbappe match Thierry Henry's record for second-most goals for France, and the team is preparing for their next qualifier against Iceland. The French Football Federation has defended its handling of player fitness, stating that players called to national duty must participate and highlighting the protocols followed.