Neymar ready to face Dortmund next Tuesday? The trend was to optimism after the announcement of his injury, a "chondro-costal injury", on February 1 against Montpellier (5-0). If we quickly learned the package of the 28-year-old Brazilian superstar for the following match, in Nantes (2-1 victory), his official website published this press release: "It's nothing serious, thank God, and it will be return Sunday against Lyon. Except that "Ney" also missed the match against Lyon (4-2) last Sunday, and again that in Dijon, Wednesday, in the quarterfinals of the Coupe de France (6-1 victory). And Amiens, on Saturday, for the last outing of the Parisians before their round of 16 first leg in the Champions League? " I do not know. We will decide on Friday, explains Thomas Tuchel, the PSG coach. We have to decide late. If it was up to me, he would have played against Lyon and again against Dijon (smile), he would always play! But it is not possible, we must be careful and we cannot take risks with the health of a player. It is a responsibility. We will decide with everyone, the doctors, the club and him. […] It is a medical decision. The risk is too great. "
And the German technician adds, on the presence of Neymar in Germany: “We have to decide every game. I cannot say 100% now that he will play against Dortmund. But the risk will decrease every day. The word is dropped. For the first time, “Herr Tuchel” openly displays its doubts. And the specters of the past resurface for the Brazilian, often stuck in the infirmary since his arrival in Paris, in 2017. And especially during the cleaver matches in C1 ... Obviously, this glitch in the ribs has nothing to do with injuries ankle who have prematurely ended their last two seasons. Besides, the kind of lesion from which the former Barcelonan suffers generally requires a big week to be treated. We approach the two weeks without playing, even if the person concerned has already resumed collective training for several days ... Is the injury more serious than expected? Relapse? In any case, the hypothesis of a bluff to disturb Lucien Favre and the staff of Borussia is very unlikely. What interest ?
There is also good news: if he has not played in Nantes, Marquinhos, out since January with a thigh injury, must return to business on Saturday, in Picardy. The idea of the Parisian staff was to allow the Brazilian defender to store the maximum of intensive training sessions this week, rather than playing half an hour in Burgundy. "For me, it is sure that he can start against Amiens," promises Tuchel, who was also able to revive Thiago Silva and Juan Bernat in Dijon. Recall that Abdou Diallo and Colin Dagba, they are already forfeited for Dortmund. Holders against Lyon last Sunday, Presnel Kimpembe, Marco Verratti and Idrissa Gueye were missing in Dijon. Leo Paredes too. “For Presnel, it's more serious than Marco and Gana, recognizes Tuchel. In theory, it is possible that he will go to Dortmund without having played Amiens. "Various sources mention a muscular problem for the French international, whose presence at Signal Iduna Park is therefore uncertain. One thing is certain, however:" We will have a strong team, but if we have little doubts, we will not take no risk against Amiens, that's clear, ”says Tuchel. And for good reason, the Champions League represents the ultimate goal of this Paris Saint-Germain, it is no secret. Especially since the players of the capital have a 12-point mattress on their Marseille dolphin in Ligue 1. Enough not to put enormous pressure before this match of the 25th day of the championship. This applies to everyone in the Parisian locker room, and even more so for Neymar, the driving force behind Parisian offensive play with Kylian Mbappé.
Which Neymar had never seemed so happy in Paris and who walked on the water before his injury. 15 goals and 10 assists to his credit in 18 games since the start of the season. Needless to say, his package in Germany would be a huge blow to Paris, even against a BVB with porous defense and a busy infirmary (Reus and Brandt packages for Paris). The countdown has started and we may know more this Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Camp des Loges during the traditional press conference the day before coach Tuchel's match. Unless the suspense lasts until the beginning of next week, and even in the last hours before the kick-off of this Champions League match…
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