Paris Saint-Germain have announced that left-back Nuno Mendes will soon undergo surgery on his hamstring problem and is set for a four-month spell on the sidelines.
The 21-year-old sustained the serious issue - believed to be a complete rupture - back in July, seeing him miss the Ligue 1 champions' pre-season tour of Asia and the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
The problem was formerly expected to sideline the former Sporting Lisbon man for a number of weeks, but Mendes is yet to make an appearance for PSG since Luis Enrique took the reins.
PSG initially opted not to go down the surgical route to fix Mendes's problem, but following a new "in-depth" assessment of the defender's issue, he will be going under the knife after all.
Mendes will soon have the procedure done in Finland, and PSG have confirmed that he is unlikely to be available for the next four months, meaning that a comeback is unlikely until the end of January or start of February.
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"After new medical examinations and a new in-depth study of Nuno Mendes's situation, the Paris Saint-Germain medical department made the decision to carry out surgery this Friday in Finland. The player's unavailability period is estimated at four months," a medical update read.
As a result, Mendes will miss the remainder of PSG's Champions League group-stage campaign as Les Parisiens gear up for two fixtures with AC Milan and Newcastle United, as well as a trip to the Signal Iduna Park to meet Borussia Dortmund on December 13.
However, should PSG qualify for the knockout stages and Mendes's recovery go to plan, the Portugal international should be fit for the last 16, with the first legs of those ties set to begin on February 13.
Mendes's imminent operation represents yet another setback in the left-back's fledgling career, though, having missed a total of 14 matches for club and country last season due to various issues.
The 21-year-old sustained a muscle injury during his World Cup debut against Uruguay in the group stage last year, and he was subsequently ruled out of the rest of the tournament as the Selecao lost to Morocco in the quarter-finals.
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Nevertheless, Mendes still managed two goals and seven assists from 32 games in all tournaments last term, winning his second Ligue 1 title and also clinching the division's Young Player of the Year prize.
Mendes's prolonged absence should see summer signing Lucas Hernandez continue at left-back in the coming months, although Enrique does also have the out-of-favour Layvin Kurzawa in the ranks.
However, the 31-year-old has not been registered for the Champions League group stages, and he is yet to play a single minute of football in the 2023-24 Ligue 1 season either.
Alongside Mendes, PSG also revealed that Kylian Mbappe had sustained a "small" ankle sprain in the weekend's Classique thrashing of Marseille, and the attacker was restricted to indoor work on Wednesday.
A fresh update on Mbappe's condition will be issued on Friday, the day before Enrique's side travel to face Clermont in the French top flight.
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