Sulc and Merah miss Lyon training ahead of Fenerbahçe Champions League playoff

Pavel Sulc and Khalis Merah were not present at Lyon's training session on Monday morning, the day before the trip to Istanbul for the Champions League playoff first leg against Fenerbahçe, according to L'Équipe.

The Czech international will rejoin the group on Wednesday, while the young attacking midfielder is nursing a minor knee injury. Both are expected back in training this week, so there are no concerns regarding their availability for tomorrow's match.

Paulo Fonseca had almost the full squad available for the morning session at Décines-Charpieu training ground. There was good news with the return of Mads Bidstrup, now recovered, and the presence of Nicolás Tagliafico, former World Cup winner with Argentina, as well as defenders Felix Bacher and Zachary Athekame, recently loaned from AC Milan and eligible for the playoff.

Heading to Istanbul

Lyon's delegation departed for Saint-Exupéry airport in the early afternoon, with departure scheduled for 15:00 to Istanbul. Fonseca will hold a press conference alongside Moussa Niakhaté at 20:30 at Ükrü Saracoglu stadium.

The team will spend the night in the Turkish capital before returning to Lyon to prepare for the next Ligue 1 fixture, a trip to Toulouse next Saturday (20:45).