Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United have caught a major break in their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain. Neymar, PSG’s superstar winger, is out for ten weeks due to a fractured a metatarsal in his right foot. With the Old Trafford leg of the knockout round tie in 13 days and the Parisian leg on March 6, the world’s most expensive player won’t be taking part.
PSG confirm the news by releasing the following statement today:
On Tuesday evening, Paris Saint-Germain gathered together a group of world-renowned medical experts at the Ooredoo Training
Centre to carry out a thorough review of the injury to Neymar Jr.’s right foot, sustained against RC Strasbourg in the Coupe de France round of 16 match on Jan. 23.
After detailed analysis by the specialists, a consensus was reached of a conservative treatment of Neymar Jr.’s injury to the fifth right metatarsal. Informed of this recommendation, Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian international striker agreed with this protocol. As a result, Neymar Jr. is expected to return to the field within ten weeks.
Paris Saint-Germain sends its strongest support and encouragement to Neymar Jr. to overcome this injury, with the courage and determination that the player has always shown.
It could have been much worse for Neymar and PSG, as earlier this week brought concerns the forward might end up being ruled out for the entire season. Should PSG get past United, Neymar would potentially be available for the UCL quarter-finals.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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