Hakimi injured again – should the PSG and Morocco powerhouse take a breather?

Achraf Hakimi is awaiting the results of his scan after coming off injured against Brest, and following two injuries last season, questions are being raised over the Morocco international's physical condition.

Paris Saint-Germain finally secured their first Ligue 1 win of the season on Sunday, beating Brest 1-0, but Achraf Hakimi did not finish the match. The Moroccan full-back was struggling in the first half, tried to continue, and then asked to be substituted in the 39th minute.

Luis Enrique referred to discomfort in the adductor, without being able to confirm the severity before further examination. With just a week to go before facing Marseille in Le Classique, the withdrawal is enough to raise concern.

This latest setback in Brittany is not an isolated case. According to Transfermarkt's records, Hakimi missed 22 matches through injury in 2025-26: 17 following a severe ankle sprain sustained in November, and a further five due to a thigh problem in the spring.

Those two absences, totalling 80 days, contrast with the image of a player capable of playing at extremely high intensity match after match, as he did in 2024-25.

That said, it would be premature to suddenly label him as 'fragile' - an ankle sprain caused by a heavy tackle from Luis Diaz is clearly a different type of issue to a muscular injury.

His previous campaign had nonetheless already raised questions over the impact of injuries during a particularly demanding year with Morocco. Hakimi had been forced into a race against time to be fit for the Africa Cup of Nations, before starting another to be available for the Champions League final and then the World Cup.

There are also doubts over his output. Hakimi continues to cover plenty of ground, but his influence in the final third appears less consistent than during his 2024-25 season.

L'Equipe noted last week that he was involved in a decisive action once every 335 minutes in 2026, compared to once every 194 minutes in 2025. Should this be attributed to his interruptions?

That would be jumping to conclusions too quickly. Changes among his teammates down the right side for PSG have also altered his usual reference points.

For PSG, the question arises ahead of Le Classique against Olympique de Marseille: in the absence of a genuine like-for-like understudy, Warren Zaire-Emery can fill in on the right, but he does not replace all of the Moroccan's attacking qualities.

Mohamed Ouahbi will also be monitoring the results of the scan, with the Atlas Lions set to open their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign against Gabon on September 25 and Lesotho on September 29, before a string of high-profile friendlies in early October. At this stage, there is nothing to suggest he will miss either fixture.

Managing the workload placed on the former Inter Milan man is not a new topic. A specific programme had already been put in place around Hakimi to reduce the risk of injury following a particularly heavy run of matches for both PSG and Morocco.

Hakimi has not overnight lost the qualities that make him one of the best players in his position. But after a season marked by two lengthy spells on the sidelines, this latest scare raises a question: to regain his full power and sharpness, does the player who once seemed tireless also need to be given time to rest?

The answer will first depend on the medical diagnosis, and then on how PSG and Morocco manage his return.

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