At his pre-match press conference, Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel revealed that he will be without the services of several first-team starters, including Neymar Jr, for Sunday’s battle against Olympique Lyonnais at the Parc des Princes.
Joining the Brazilian on the absentee list is Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Juan Bernat, Abdou Diallo, and Colin Dagba.
When asked about the three injured Brazilians, Tuchel remained positive about the timetable for them to return.
“They will come back if everything is normal. We can continue without a problem and they will come back against Dijon. This is also the goal for Neymar.”
More specifically, Tuchel was asked about Marquinhos, who had a more significant injury (hamstring), and whether he is ahead of schedule in his recovery.
“No. He did the full training today. He will do tests tomorrow and Monday and maybe he can play a few minutes in Dijon, but not start.”
Marquinhos is a vital player for PSG’s success in the UEFA Champions League and his fitness is almost as important as Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.
I previously predicted Neymar would play against Lyon and then rest until the Dortmund match but now, it appears as though Tuchel will risk him on less-than-ideal conditions away at Dijon next Wednesday or Amiens SC next Saturday. If Neymar goes down with an injury, Tuchel can expect plenty of second-guessing from the media.
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