Chronicle Editor
Paris — Paris Saint-Germain forwards Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are both in a race against time to recover from injuries in time for the crucial Champions League clash with Liverpool, the French club said yesterday.
PSG said a scan had showed that Neymar strained an adductor muscle in his groin in Brazil’s 1-0 friendly win against Cameroon on Tuesday.
And Mbappe has a shoulder contusion after falling heavily in France’s 1-0 win over Uruguay at the Stade de France.
“A 48-hour period of treatment will be undertaken to assess their clinical evolution,” PSG said.
It appears likely that both players will miss PSG’s Ligue 1 match against Toulouse on Saturday, but their real target will be Wednesday’s Champions League match against Liverpool at the Parc des Princes.
All four sides could still qualify for the knockout phase from Group C. Liverpool have the same number of points as leaders Napoli while PSG sit third, one point behind Liverpool and one point ahead of Red Star Belgrade.
Neymar played down his injury, saying in an Instagram message that “it was nothing serious”.
In Tuesday’s match, the Brazilian forward had treatment for an apparent groin problem after just five minutes and collapsed to the turf soon afterwards to boos from the crowd in the central English town of Milton Keynes.
Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar also said on Tuesday the €222-million player did not appear to have a serious problem.
“He felt discomfort,” Lasmar said. “He will need a bit more time to evaluate it and take a scan, but in principle it is not a serious injury.”
In Paris, Mbappe hurt his right shoulder as he challenged Uruguay goalkeeper Martin Campana for the ball in the World Cup winners’ victory.
France coach Didier Deschamps said Mbappe, the 19-year-old forward who shot to global prominence at the World Cup, “had some shoulder pain after his fall”.
Neymar’s replacement in the Brazilian lineup, Everton’s Richarlison, headed in on the stroke of half-time to secure victory for the Selecao.
France won thanks to Olivier Giroud’s 52nd-minute penalty.
— FP.
derick.khumalo