Paris Saint Germain Left-winger and striker Neymar Jr. suffered a blow to his groin during the second half of a Coupe de France match against Caen. He was replaced by Kylian Mbappe as he left the field limping only 2 minutes after a horrible challenge by the former Toulouse player Steeve Yago.
According to the new PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino, it was the “lack of protection” by the referee that caused this situation. Although Yago was already booked at the 41st minute, he deserved a second yellow for a gross foul as this one which in this case was not the scenario to the referee’s content. Neymar alone in the game accounted for 6 of the 14 fouls committed towards PSG.
PSG confirmed in a statement on Thursday: “Neymar Jr suffered an injury to the left adductor longus on Wednesday evening. Upon analysis of the clinical examination and imaging examinations, an unavailability of approximately four weeks is expected depending on the course.”
Neymar also missed several weeks in the 2020/21 campaign which was also due to an injury near his groin causing a small tear in his left adductor. Being ruled out for four weeks will mean that he will miss the first leg of PSG’s Champions League last-16 tie at his former club Barcelona on Tuesday.
Neymar being sold to PSG for nearly $269 million has been the most expensive transfer to date. He has scored 6 goals in 5 appearances in the Champions League this season. Not having Neymar is a big blow for the Ligue 1 champions, along with him, the Argentine winger Angel Di Maria is also out due to a thigh injury.
Marco Verratti, the central midfielder is also recovering from a hip bruise injury that occurred during the final minutes of their match against Olympique de Marseille. This renders PSG down three starting players.
The 29-year-old Brazilian’s availability for the second leg in Paris is also in doubt with the match scheduled for March 10.
