PSG shared on Twitter images of the player getting out of a van and entering the training center premises. The tweet was accompanied by the message: “Kylian Mbappé back to training this Wednesday.” When asked by AFP, the club confirmed that the player was resuming the sessions with PSG.
This return is surprising, since the Parisian players participating in the World Cup were supposed to be able to benefit from at least ten days off before joining their teammates at the club. The return of Mbappé, the best scorer in the World Cup with 8 goals and author of a hat-trick in the final, was not expected until January 2023.
The club has not specified the next steps in Mbappé’s reinstatement program, with PSG returning to Ligue 1 on December 28 at the Parc des Princes against Strasbourg, before the visit to Lens on January 1.
“I am very happy to see him,” said the Paris Saint-Germain coach, Christophe Galtier, when asked about it by the club’s media.
The Moroccan Achraf Hakimi, World Cup semifinalist and defeated last Saturday by Croatia (2-1) in the duel for third place, followed the example of his great friend Mbappé and also returned to training, according to the images released by the club on social media.
Lionel Messi, world champion with Argentina, began the celebrations in his country of the Qatar title on Monday and his return to France is not expected until 2023.
Paris Saint-Germain will have the start of its round-trip tie in the round of 16 of the Champions League against Bayern Munich in mid-February. The first leg is scheduled for February 14 and the return for March 8.
The Champions League is the great obsession of Paris Saint-Germain, who could never be champion in that tournament. The closest they came is in 2020, when they were runners-up, being beaten by Bayern Munich in a final in Lisbon.