PSV Lose Pléa for the Year and Have No Fit Striker Left

PSV will be without Alassane Pléa for the rest of the calendar year. Peter Bosz confirmed the 33-year-old striker has undergone surgery that ends his season, capping a ruinous two years that began with a serious knee injury in only his second Eredivisie appearance for the club. "For that boy, it's a disaster," Bosz told De Telegraaf.

From comeback to another operation

Pléa had only just completed the long road back. After missing virtually all of last season with the knee injury, he made his return and featured against Fortuna Sittard, then broke down again in training the following week. PSV initially expected him back within roughly six weeks. Instead, the setback required surgery, and the Frenchman will not play again before 2027.

A striker department with no fit strikers

The bigger problem for Bosz is what surrounds the news. Ricardo Pepi is already out for several weeks after coming off injured in the 3-2 defeat at FC Twente that cost PSV their unbeaten start, and summer signing Sam Lammers has yet to reach match fitness. In effect, the Eredivisie champions currently have no fit senior centre-forward in the squad, with midfielders Guus Til and Sven Mijnans mentioned as stopgaps through the middle.

• Alassane Pléa — surgery confirmed; out for the rest of 2026.
• Ricardo Pepi — several weeks out after the injury at FC Twente.
• Sam Lammers — signed in the window but not yet match-fit.
• Paul Wanner — returned from Austria duty with a foot injury.
• Lutsharel Geertruida — withdrew from the Netherlands squad, but Bosz does not expect a long absence.

PSV sit third in the Eredivisie after the Twente defeat and resume at home to Heerenveen on Friday, October 9 — the first of eight matches in a month. Bosz's immediate task is to keep the league position healthy until the January market, or until Lammers is ready, gives him a centre-forward again. The champions' depth everywhere else will now be tested at the one position where they have none.