Paulo Fonseca faces Lyon selection headache as absences mount | OneFootball

Paulo Fonseca will be without six players for at least another week, including Sunday’s Ligue 1 meeting with Paris FC at 20:45, and he is seeking a right-back solution before Thursday’s Europa League trip to Celta Vigo at 21:00.

According to L'Équipe, the Lyon head coach offered no fresh positives as he previewed the matchday 25 fixture, having left Groupama Stadium after midnight between Thursday and Friday.

Defenders Ruben Kluivert and Ainsley Maitland-Niles remain sidelined, the latter suffered an adductor injury against Lens on Thursday, a 2-2 draw followed by a 5-4 shootout in the Coupe de France quarter-finals, and a return is only likely in around 15 days. Forwards Malick Fofana, Ernest Nuamah, Pavel Sulc and Afonso Moreira will also miss both Paris FC and Vigo.

For Vigo, Hans Hateboer and Noham Kamara are unavailable as they are not on the European list, leaving Fonseca to patch the right flank. He noted Roman Iaremtchouk was not meant to start so soon at Marseille, a 2-3 defeat, then covered 12 km against Lens. Endrick had played only 99 minutes for Real Madrid in 2025-2026 before his loan to OL, and is now featuring constantly, so caution is required even if alternatives are scarce.

Lyon lost 1-3 at Strasbourg, could or perhaps should have won at Marseille, and then showed resolve by recovering from 0-2 to 2-2 against Lens, sparked by a burst from youngster Rémi Himbert. The combination of absences and physical strain is weighing on results.

Fonseca accepted that fatigue is building, calling the Lens tie highly intense after reviewing the physical data. He said both teams finished exhausted, while Lens are playing only once a week.

Source: L'Équipe