PSG’s Neymar has ‘Ligament Damage’ in Injured Ankle, Can Miss Champions League Clash vs Bayern Munich
Last Updated: February 22, 2023, 07:22 IST
Neymar left the field in tears (AP)
Paris St Germain boss Christophe Galtier said his team’s intense fixture schedule has played a part in Neymar’s ankle injury
Brazil forward Neymar has suffered ligament damage to his injured ankle, Paris Saint-Germain said on Tuesday, two weeks before the French club’s UEFA Champions League last 16, second leg with Bayern Munich.
Neymar, 31, was taken off on a stretcher with an ankle injury in the second half of PSG’s extraordinary 4-3 Ligue 1 win over Lille on Sunday.
“New examinations taken today confirm a sprained ankle for Neymar with ligament damage,” PSG said in a statement.
PSG confirmed after the victory a scan had shown no fracture, but said further tests would need to be carried out on the damage to the ligaments in the coming days.
His injury immediately built fears he could miss the return leg with Bayern on March 8.
The French champions will head to Germany looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the last 16 first leg, when Kylian Mbappe was restricted to a second-half cameo as a substitute on his return from a thigh injury.
PSG will be looking to avoid going out of the Champions League in the last 16 for what would be the fifth time in seven seasons.
Neymar has already been ruled out of PSG’s crunch Ligue 1 game at Marseille this weekend.
Neymar, who damaged the same ankle at the World Cup in Qatar and has twice spent lengthy spells on the sidelines after sustaining metatarsal fractures before PSG’s last-16 tie against Real Madrid in 2019 and against Manchester United the following year, with the French side being knocked out on both occasions.
Paris St Germain’s intense fixture schedule has played a part in Neymar’s latest injury, coach Christophe Galtier said after the win.
“This is not bad luck,” Galtier had said after the match.
“There are always reasons for injuries – the schedule, the sequence of games. It is never random. He is being examined to know the severity of his sprain.
“Of course, it complicates things and that’s the way it is. We have to keep our heads down. We’re going to do it again, but with a victory. That is more pleasant.”
(With inputs from Agencies)
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