PSG-Barça: Neymar, a half-time return

One was injured on February 7 and played again on Saturday in Brest in the Coupe de France (3-0).

The other was injured on February 10 and will play again this Wednesday against Barcelona.

Even if the injuries are not the same, Angel Di Maria and Neymar bind their fate to the moment of regaining the competition.

Each victim of an injury - of the femoral right for the Argentinian;

of the long left adductor muscle for the Brazilian - the two South American players will have taken four full weeks before returning to the cleaver matches.

Although it follows the same logic, Neymar's return is obviously louder.

It's the Champions League and not the Coupe de France.

It is not Brest but Barcelona, ​​his former club.

Absent on February 16 in the first leg (4-1), the crack had posted on the web his spleen after the first exams announcing it on the flank, placing his reunion with Barça in the "top 3" of the meetings that he would have liked to argue in his life.

As a consolation prize, he will be able to participate in a few minutes of the return leg.

With this scenario, no risk to take

The idea is not to rush his return or get it started.

This is neither Mauricio Pochettino's logic nor that of the halftime result of the two matches.

The Argentine coach has recently proven, with Marco Verratti for example, that he does not shorten any treatment protocol, even if it means experiencing problems in a match.

The absence of the Italian did not help against Monaco (2-0 defeat) or during the short success in Bordeaux (1-0) in a match where he had started Rafinha after having snubbed him several times.

If the former technician from Tottenham does not show any haste, it is also that the scenario lends itself to it.

Any draw qualifies Paris as well as defeats by two goals.

Above all, he has his team in mind.

It does not involve a priori any surprises.

It is the fruit of his key ideas, which he has installed since the start of his mandate on January 3.

Di Maria tenured right lane

The last uncertainty concerns Alessandro Florenzi, who has just missed three meetings for a small injury to the adductors.

But the Italian has been back in training since last Thursday.

He will lack rhythm but offers more assurance than Colin Dagba while Thilo Kehrer left as a precaution in Brest.

Against the Catalans, Pochettino should line up a very classic team with only one change from the first leg three weeks ago: Di Maria on the right side instead of Moise Kean, affected by the Covid-19.

Thanks to the five changes in three stages, Pochettino will have plenty of time to bring in Neymar who, according to the standard for a return from injury, will have a good thirty minutes in his legs (Di Maria played 24 minutes on Saturday in Brest).

The score of the return match, except if the game is played earlier (expulsion, exit on injury), will serve as a cursor, by accelerating or not its warm-up.

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The probable team:

Navas - Florenzi, Marquinhos (cap.), Kimpembe, Kurzawa - Paredes, Gueye - Di Maria, Verratti, Mbappé - Icardi.