Paris St Germain (PSG) got back to winning ways in the French Ligue 1 on Saturday with a 1-0 defeat of Girondins de Bordeaux.
However, the French champions lost striker Edinson Cavani through injury ahead of their UEFA Champions League trip to Manchester United.
Cavani scored with a 42nd minute penalty kick before holding his thigh and leaving the pitch.
This has come three days before PSG take on Manchester United in their UEFA Champions League last 16 first leg tie.
PSG coach Thomas Tuchel is already without Brazil striker Neymar, who was ruled out of the whole tie with a foot injury.
The result puts leaders PSG on 59 points from 22 games, 13 ahead of second-placed Lille, who have played one more game.
There was some good news for PSG as midfielder Marco Verratti returned to the line-up after recovering from an ankle injury.
Verratti played almost an hour before being substituted by Leandro Paredes.
The Italian is now expected to start on Tuesday against a resurgent Manchester United side who claimed their 10th win in 11 games under caretaker coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The English side beat Fulham 3-0 on Saturday in the English Premier League (EPL).
PSG, who suffered their first league defeat this season against Olympique Lyonnais last weekend, were in control against mid-table Bordeaux.
Cavani broke the deadlock with a penalty kick for his 17th goal in 16 league games this season after Thomas Meunier had been fouled in the area.
Meunier was later replaced following a head clash with a Bordeaux player.
A couple of minutes later Cavani limped off the pitch clutching his thigh, prompting Tuchel to substitute him with Kylian Mbappe.
The French international had been expected to be rested ahead of Tuesday’s clash.
He is now likely to start as a lone striker at Old Trafford, supported by Julian Draxler and Angel Di Maria.
The second half was relatively poor, with PSG players, wearing shirts with their names written in Mandarin to mark the Chinese New Year, taking no risks.
The Bordeaux side were also lacking in creativity.
The visitors’ only clear chance after the break came in the 61st minute when Gianluigi Buffon pulled off a superb save to tip away Francois Kamano’s 25-metre strike.
Bordeaux are 12th on 28 points.(Reuters/NAN)
