London, 26 August 2026 (PA Media/dpa/MIA) - Ousmane Dembele will miss Paris St Germain's game against Lille on Friday after being granted "a period of rest" by his club.

The Ballon d'Or winner has been sparingly used since returning from his World Cup exploits with France, playing no more than 45 minutes in any of PSG's first three games of the season.

Having come off the bench against Aston Villa and Lens in the European and French Super Cups respectively, Dembele was replaced at the break against his former club Rennes in his first start of the campaign.

A club statement on Tuesday evening confirmed: "In agreement with the coach and the sporting management, Ousmane Dembele will benefit from a period of rest in the coming days.

"He will resume training on Monday with the entire group."

Dembele has scored 35 and then 20 goals in all competitions in the last two seasons as PSG won their fourth and fifth league titles in succession as well as back-to-back Champions Leagues.

They drew 2-2 with Rennes last week in their Ligue 1 opener, where they were rescued by a debut brace from Dembele's half-time replacement Ferran Torres.

They go into Friday's match two points behind their opponents, who beat Angers 2-0.

Photo: epa