Olympique Lyonnais féminine was to celebrate a significant milestone in the history of its iconic captain, Wendie Renard, during the match against Paris FC this Saturday. This match, originally scheduled as Renard’s 500th game in Lyon, since its arrival in 2006, was announced as a major event. Unfortunately, due to a recent foot injury, the player will have to declare a lump sum, depriving the team and supporters of this long-awaited celebration. This absence is in addition to that of Ada Hegerberg, also unavailable, weakening the collective a few days away from a crucial trip to London to face Arsenal in the semifinal of the Champions League.

Wendie Renard’s unavailability was not a surprise, as rumours about his package circulated last Thursday. Although OL women are already assured of first place in the championship, these major absences raise questions about the preparation of the team for the European deadlines. Despite these setbacks, the Lyon group can count on key elements such as Christiane Endler, Vanessa Gilles, Selma Bacha and Lindsey Heaps, among others, to maintain performance. Attacker Kadidiatou Diani, although returning after a concussion with the French team, will also be on the game.

To cope with this shock against the Paris FC, the OL group is structured around several players, including Benkarth, Belhadj, Endler, Bacha, Carpenter, Gilles, Huerta, Nelhage, Sombath, Svava, Tarciane, Benyahia, Däbritz, Damaris, Dumornay, Heaps, Majri, Marozsan, Van de Donk, Becho, Chawinga, Diani and Le Sommer. Given the importance of the upcoming games, it is likely that Joe Montemurro will set up a player rotation to preserve the team in view of the going semifinal of the Champions League against the English. The festivities originally planned to honour Wendie Renard were postponed to a later date.