Paris Saint-Germain cannot have Neymar on Wednesday in the return of the eighth final of the Champions League against Bayern Munich. Trainer Christophe Galtier confirmed this on Friday. The attacker of the Parisians sustained an ankle injury against Lille OSC two weeks ago and has not recovered in time. A big loss for PSG, which has to make up for a 0-1 defeat in Munich to prevent elimination.
The game against Lille started well for Neymar, who signed for a 2-0 score with a ticker in the seventeenth minute. Three minutes after the break, however, things went horribly wrong for the left winger, who tried to pass a bouncing ball around the center line. Lille defender André Santos tried to prevent that, but tapped Neymar’s foot instead of the ball. The latter’s right ankle twisted horribly. Neymar cried out in pain and had to fight back tears.
The PSG star player was carried away on a stretcher and replaced by Hugo Ekitike. Neymar’s absence from Bavaria is another setback in an already volatile period for Les Rouge et Bleu. In addition to the lost Champions League match against Bayern, the capitals were eliminated in the Coupe de France by Olympique Marseille (2-1) and the league match with AS Monaco was lost (3-1). The traveling fans were furious after the match and demanded a speedy recovery. That also came in the form of victories in the competition over Lille (4-3) and Marseille (0-3).
In addition to Neymar, Galtier also has to compete against Bayern without Presnel Kimpembe, who is struggling with a serious Achilles tendon injury. Achraf Hakimi was not there in Marseille, but has recovered from a hamstring injury. However, the Moroccan international has other concerns on his mind. The Moroccan international is being charged with rape, the French judiciary announced on Friday. PSG will take on FC Nantes before the match against Bayern on Saturday in their own Parc des Princes.
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