Hakimi's Injury Scare Forces PSG and Morocco to Rethink His Workload

Achraf Hakimi’s fitness is under scrutiny once more after he was withdrawn early during Paris Saint-Germain‘s 1-0 win over Brest on Sunday. The Moroccan full-back struggled through the opening half, attempted to play on, then asked to come off in the 39th minute. Luis Enrique pointed to discomfort in the adductor but could not confirm the severity of the issue ahead of further testing. With Le Classique against Marseille just a week away, the withdrawal has triggered real concern around his availability.

This latest issue in Brittany is not a one-off. Transfermarkt records show Hakimi missed 22 matches through injury across the 2025-26 campaign. Seventeen of those came after a severe ankle sprain in November, with a further five lost to a thigh problem in spring. Combined, those two spells cost him 80 days on the sidelines, a stark contrast to the durable, high-intensity performer fans watched throughout 2024-25.

Calling him fragile would be premature. An ankle sprain triggered by a heavy tackle from Luis Diaz sits in a different category from a muscular strain, and treating both as evidence of the same underlying issue oversimplifies the picture.

His previous season still raised legitimate questions about how injury risk intersects with his workload during a punishing year with Morocco. Hakimi had to race back to fitness for the Africa Cup of Nations, then repeat that process to be ready for the Champions League final, and again for the World Cup.

Output concerns add to the picture

Beyond the physical toll, there are doubts creeping in about his output. Hakimi still covers significant ground, but his influence in the final third has dropped compared to last season’s standard.

L’Equipe reported last week that he produced a decisive action once every 335 minutes in 2026, down from once every 194 minutes in 2025. Attributing that decline solely to his injury interruptions would be too simple. Personnel changes down PSG’s right flank have shifted his usual reference points on the pitch, and that context matters as much as fitness data.

Will PSG and Morocco need to manage his workload?

For PSG, the immediate question centers on Le Classique against Olympique de Marseille. Without a genuine like-for-like understudy, Warren Zaire-Emery can slot in on the right, but he cannot replicate every attacking quality Hakimi brings to that position.

Mohamed Ouahbi will be watching the scan results closely too. The Atlas Lions open their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign against Gabon on September 25, followed by Lesotho on September 29, before a run of high-profile friendlies in early October. Nothing currently suggests Hakimi will miss either qualifier.

Managing his workload is not a new conversation. A specific programme was already put in place around Hakimi to cut injury risk after a demanding stretch of fixtures for both club and country.

Hakimi has not suddenly lost the qualities that make him one of the best in his position anywhere in Europe. But after a season defined by two lengthy absences, this fresh scare raises a fair question: does the player once considered tireless now need real rest to recover his sharpness?

The answer starts with the medical diagnosis. What follows depends entirely on how PSG and Morocco choose to handle his return. Stay with TipsGG for updates on Hakimi’s scan results and how it shapes Le Classique.