The 26-year-old scored a remarkable hat-trick in Sunday’s Ligue 1 clash against Paris FC, but he is reported to have sustained a suspected ankle injury.

Rennes manager Franck Haise admitted afterwards that Lepaul, currently Ligue 1’s leading scorer, faces a race against time to recover.

He explained that the striker’s decision to leave the pitch during added time, despite his team pushing for victory, suggested a potentially serious problem.

“Knowing him, if he is coming off in added time at 3-3, while we’re in the ascendancy, because he tells me that he can’t continue, I don’t see how, in the very short term, and Thursday is very short term, he can play,” Haise told the media.

“If he couldn’t keep going, I know that it is a real problem.”

Lepaul will undergo further medical examinations to determine the extent of his ankle injury and establish a recovery timeline.