Will Sadio Mane be available for Bayern Munich against PSG?

PSG will face Bayern Munich in the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League with the first leg taking place on February 14. Will Sadio Mane be available for the German side to face Paris Saint-Germain in their first game next month?

According to multiple sources and reports published earlier this month, Mane is expected to be back in action at the beginning of next month, which should put him in a position to at least entertain the idea of facing PSG in the Champions League.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann touched on the topic and revealed that Mane "could make a recovery in time to face Paris Saint-Germain," with that game virtually just an exact month away from this day.

Sadio Mane is ahead in his recovery, could face PSG in February

Mane, who underwent a knee operation last November, was forced to miss the Qatar World Cup but seems to be ahead of schedule in his recovery.

Nagelsmann added that Mane "is an important player," also saying that "if everything goes well, he could be back in time to face PSG." The German coach was cautious, though, warning that the club will see "how he reacts to the workload" during the first training sessions he's part of.

"Personally, I'm not considering him for the first leg yet," Nagelsmann said. That's hardly surprising, though, as the coach would be better off planning for a match without his main striker with the potential bonus of having him available, rather than building a gameplan with him in mind only to find out he's ruled out and not fit enough later, eventually missing the clash against PSG.

According to the Bavarian coach, Mane "was able to run at 70%" of his capacity, which was more than what Bayern expected from him at this point in his recovery process. That said, Nagelsmann made clear that "there is no timetable nor an exact time frame on Mane's return," even if he might be on the pitch come February 14.