Jerome Boateng could make his first Ligue 1 Uber Eats appearance of the season with the FIFA World Cup-winning defender part of the Lyon squad set to take on unbeaten Lens on Sunday evening (kick-off 20:45CEST).
Boateng has been plagued by injuries ever since arriving at OL from Bayern Munich some 14 months ago, and the 34-year-old ex-Germany international centre-back has suffered a number of setbacks this term.
But he is now nearing full fitness, and with Castello Lukeba sidelined due to an injury sustained on international duty, Peter Bosz could bring Boateng into the side in northern France.
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"This is the first week in which we have been able to work together. He's not been lucky this season with his injuries," explained the Lyon boss of Boateng, who made just 27 competitive appearances for the seven-time French champions last season. "After a week, he got injured and has been out of the squad for two months. Last year, he didn't have a pre-season, and even though he worked with a fitness coach, it's not the same. Last season, he was always trying to make up that deficit. And now, Thiago Mendes has been playing in that position and Jerome got injured."
The former Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen coach added: "We can see in the stats that he's in better shape than last season. Honestly, he's training very very well. And if he's 100%, he's an option for me given his experience."
With 76 Germany caps and that 2014 World Cup win in Brazil, as well as nine Bundesliga titles and two UEFA Champions League triumphs in nearly a decade at Bayern, Boateng's top-level nous will be welcome at the Stade Félix Bollaert where Bosz will be deprived of another ex-Bayern man, Corentin Tolisso, Moussa Dembélé and Romain Faivre as he looks to end a run of two successive league losses.
While Lyon have underperformed, Lens coach Franck Haise acknowledges his side have been "overperforming" for the last two-and-a-half years. The fact his team is one of three — along with UEFA Champions League participants Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille — to be unbeaten coming into Round 9 adds substance to Haise's words, but he admits the margins are very slim for his squad.
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"If we don't put in everything, 100% of the ingredients, if we're at 90 or 85%, our position is around tenth or 12th in the table. It's because we're at 100%, or 110, or sometimes 120%, and that we've been doing that for the last 30 months. That mustn't be forgotten," he explained. "I know it's difficult to maintain. But my role is to tell them that we have to continue, because as soon as two or three of them put in a little less, you can see it. We must never take our foot off the gas, ever."
His squad's monumental efforts so far this season mean they are in fourth place, just one behind third-placed Lorient, and five better off than OL, who come into the weekend's action in sixth. Jonathan Gradit remains on the sidelines for the hosts as he recovers from injury and summer signing Adam Buksa remains short of match fitness. Seko Fofana is available, however, after returning from international duty with Côte d'Ivoire, while Massadio Haïdara will make his 100th top-flight appearances if he features.
Probable teams
Lens: Samba; Danso, Medina, Haïdara; Frankowski, Abdul Samed, Fofana, Machado; Pereira Da Costa; Sotoca, Openda
OL: Lopes; Gusto, Mendes, Lukeba, Tagliafico; Tetê, Tolisso, Caqueret, Toko Ekambi; Dembélé, Lacazette
