A recent report on Neymar’s injury recovery has some interesting information regarding the Brazilian player’s inclusion against Barcelona.
Neymar is doing his best in order to recover in time to face FC Barcelona at Parc des Princes but getting there won’t be easy. Le Parisien just reported that despite his optimal recovery process, the star might not be part of the roster for that match. Mauricio Pochettino feels optimistic about his return but he wants Neymar to come back after the next international break. It’s highly possible that he makes the trip to represent Brazil for the South American World Cup qualifiers, which is one of the star’s top priorities.
With this in mind, Pochettino considers the 4-1 advantage as a good-enough reason for Neymar to take a back set and not risk anything. Even though the player probably wants to return against his former club, Pochettino is the one who makes that decision. His plan is to save Neymar for a hypothetical Champions League quarterfinal but this could also pose a risk for PSG.
Bad memories with Neymar on the sidelines.
We don’t need to go far in order to remember bad results with Neymar missing a Champions League game. A couple of years ago, an injured Neymar also missed the knock-out stage against Manchester United and he deeply regretted it. There’s an already famous image of Neymar’s face of disbelief after getting eliminated by the Red Devils. This is what the star doesn’t want and the reason he wants to play against Barcelona.
PSG simply can’t underestimate a club like Barcelona, especially with the 6-1 defeat still fresh in their memory. Granted, the odds are in their favor this season but they were in a similar situation back in 2017. Funny enough, Neymar was the hero back then as a Barcelona player. Will Mauricio Pochettino still decide to wait on his star’s return?