Last week’s international break was not kind to Paris Saint-Germain, as their superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe suffered injuries. PSG began to sweat on the fitness of the stellar duo ahead of the blockbuster UEFA Champions League group stage clash at home against Liverpool Wednesday night.
Mbappe is convalescing from a bruised shoulder, while Neymar is battling a right adductor strain. It had looked like a major break for Liverpool, but Sunday brought a new development, which is much less encouraging for the Merseyside club.
“I am more optimistic than yesterday about Ney and Kylian,” Paris boss Thomas Tuchel said. “They will be able to train on Monday.”
PSG, currently third place in the Group C standings, will be eliminated from European competition if they lose at the Parc des Princes to Liverpool and first place Napoli beats Red Star Belgrade. That is way beyond the realm of unacceptable, given all the massive investment that they have made in their roster.
As for the Reds their upset loss at Red Star had looked potentially disastrous, but they can still go through to the knockout round, provided they take care of business.
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.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.