A tile in the middle of the final sprint. Stade Brestois, in the fight with Lille for third place in Ligue 1, directly qualifying for the next Champions League, announced on Thursday that its best player, midfielder Pierre Lees-Melou, will not play again this season .
“End of season marked for him, he is the victim of a fractured fibula, he will be operated on during the week,” explained Bretons coach Eric Roy during the press conference preceding the match against Reims on Friday. at 9 p.m., for the 33rd day (out of 34) of the French championship. “It’s hard for him and for the group, he has all our support. We hope he will be fit to resume this summer,” added Roy.
Lees-Melou, 30, had already been unable to train normally before the match against Nantes (0-0), Sunday May 5, and came out during the first period of the match against the Canaries.
Also deprived of Romain del Castillo
A key player in the unexpected success of Stade Brestois this season, Lees-Melou has long been the Ligue 1 player best rated by L'Equipe this season. With an average of 6.21 (out of 10), he is now only ahead of Ousmane Dembélé, the international striker of PSG.
The match against Reims is crucial for the Brestois. With two points ahead of Lille with two games remaining in the championship, they hope to secure direct qualification for the group stage of the Champions League. But the Finisterians will also be deprived of Romain del Castillo, their right winger.
“Romain has started jogging again. He will not play tomorrow against Reims, but we have a small hope that he will participate in the last match of the season against Toulouse. We will see how it evolves,” said Eric Roy.
