Brazilian Superstar Neymar who plays for Paris St-Germain has been ruled out of the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie against Barcelona.
The talented forward missed the first leg against his former side, which PSG won 4-1, with a thigh injury.
An official statement from PSG on Wednesday said: ‘Neymar returned to partial training with the squad last week and will continue to work back to fitness individually,’
Barcelona on the other hand will be without defenders Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo for the match in Paris on Wednesday.
Pique sustained a knee injury in the Copa del Rey semi-final win over Sevilla on 3 March, while Araujo has returned to training after an ankle problem but is not in the squad.
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Ex-Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho is still missing for the Spanish side because of a knee injury.
Barcelona, who lost 8-2 to eventual winners Bayern Munich in last season’s one-legged quarter-final, has made it past the last 16 of the Champions League in each of the past 13 seasons.
In 2016-17, they were beaten 4-0 by PSG in the last-16 first leg in Paris, before winning the second leg 6-1 in Spain.
Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman remained optimistic his side could reach the quarter-finals and said: ‘It is always different to have a result like this.
‘Losing 4-1 at home means we have to score goals away from home and it’s more complicated but nothing is impossible.
‘We believe in ourselves – we know we are Barca and have to win and will demonstrate this mentality.’
PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino, who took Tottenham to the Champions League final in 2018-19, will also be without on-loan Everton striker Moise Kean as he is self-isolating because of coronavirus.
Neymar helped the French champions reach their first Champions League final last August and has scored 12 goals in 17 competitive fixtures this season.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
