Racing Strasbourg will be without top scorer Joaquin Panichelli for their Conference League quarter-final against Mainz 05. The current leader in the Ligue 1 goalscoring charts will be out for much longer than that.
He had the best chance of securing the Ligue 1 top scorer crown in his first season in France and was in with a chance of a World Cup ticket. Now both trains have probably left the station for Joaquin Panichelli. The 23-year-old center forward from Racing Strasbourg tore a cruciate ligament in his right knee during training with the Argentinian national team on Thursday. This was announced by the Argentine association on Friday.
In the worst-case scenario, Panichelli could not play at all this calendar year. His World Cup dream with the defending champions also appears to be over: the tall attacker made his debut for the Albiceleste in the last test match in 2025 and has now also been named for the two international matches against Mauritania on Saturday night and Zambia on Wednesday night.
Panichelli earned his place in Lionel Scaloni’s team with a fairytale debut season in Alsace. Panichelli moved to Strasbourg from Deportivo Alaves in the summer, having previously scored 20 goals in the Spanish second division on loan at CD Mirandes. Panichelli continued to score goals seamlessly on the Franco-German border, scoring 16 goals in 27 games in Ligue 1 so far. This currently puts him ahead of Mason Greenwood (Marseille, 15) and Esteban Lepaul (Rennes, 14) at the top of the scoring charts in the French elite league.
Panichelli also missing against Mainz
Panichelli has now been brought to an abrupt halt on his way to the crown – and Strasbourg’s hopes of qualifying for Europe again have also been dealt a severe blow. Racing are currently eighth in the table and six points behind sixth place, which qualifies them for the Europa Conference League.
The Alsatians are still in the competition this season and will face Mainz 05 in the quarter-finals. On Thursday, Strasbourg had received good news from the French league association, which had postponed the league match between the two clashes with the Rheinhessen side to ensure Strasbourg had the best possible preparation. However, the absence of the high-flyer now comes as bad news – also because Strasbourg could have hoped to sell Panichelli at a high price in the summer. The Argentine is said to be on the radar of top European clubs.