Marseille hit by injuries ahead of biggest game of French football against bitter rival PSG

Marseille: For Jonathan Clauss, the France friendly against Chile this week was meant to be pure joy in front of his home crowd.

It ended up as a sour 11-minute experience concluded by an injury that ruled out the defender from French football’s biggest game this weekend.

Clauss, who plays for Marseille, left the pitch with a torn left hamstring and was forced to watch his teammates’ 3-2 win from the sidelines.

The former Lens player is expected to be out of action for up to four weeks at a crucial moment of the season for Marseille, which

has big matches lined up against Lille then Benfica in the Europa League following the clash with bitter rival Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.

Marseille was already hit by an injury crisis ahead of hosting PSG at a sold-out Stade Velodrome in a match known as “Le Classique.”

The confrontation became popular during the 1990s when the arrival of prominent players such as Rudi Voeller

and George Weah ignited the rivalry. Marseille, the only French team to win the Champions

League back in 1993, has fallen well behind since PSG was taken over by Qatari investors in 2011, but the game continues to stir up passion.

PSG has won 11 of the last 14 matches against Marseille. Marseille has failed to score in the last four.