Will injuries and internationals hurt Le Tef against PSG?

By: Dave Trotter | October 6th, 2009

gignac_sissoko_max_small It is still a number of weeks away before Ligue 1 action starts again, but Toulouse are already facing some questions in regards to their match against Paris Saint-Germain on October 18th.

With the upcoming internationals coming up, there are eight players that will be leaving for international duty. Andre-Pierre Gignac and Moussa Sissoko will be suiting up for France. Daniel Braaten has been called up by Norway while Paula Machado has been called up for Portugal. Fodé Mansaré has also been called up Guinea. In the 2011 Under-21 World Cup qualifiers, which will be held on October 9th, Moussa Sissoko, Cheikh M’Bengue and Franck Tabanou have been called up for The Hopes in their match against Malta.

In addition to the call-ups, Le Tef also suffers from a number of injuries. Team captain Mauro Cetto suffered a broken collarbone and will not be available until January. Defender Mohamed Fofana has been out since August. And midfielder Etienne Didot has complained about pain to his Achilles tendon.

With much of the team injured and the international call-ups, Toulouse manager Alain Cassanova is worried about the depth of his team and the compressed play of international, Ligue 1 and Europa League play for the called up players. “Playing every three days, it penalizes the team” said Casanova. “With the injuries, there is no rotation possible and it becomes hard. In addition, we can not work together during this time. Our problems are targeted, but how do we solve them? ”

Cassanova did say that most of the team will be back as soon as possible to get ready for the PSG matchup on October 18th. Braaten and Machado will return on Monday. The Under-21s will be back on Wednesday, and the other internationals (including Gignac and Sissoko) will be back to practice on Thursday.