Manchester United’s Champions League hopes could have received a boost after what appeared to be a nasty injury to Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar. The Brazilian striker sustained the problem in the same ankle he had surgery on last season, leaving the pitch in the cup game vs. Strasbourg in the 62nd minute.
The Brazilian appeared to be in tears as he hobbled off the pitch an hour into PSG’s French Cup clash with Strasbourg. The world’s most expensive player seemed to badly twist his right ankle and received treatment on the pitch. Neymar then limped off and was replaced by Moussa Diaby. He looked distraught as he left the pitch and held his hands over his eyes.
The French champions take on United in the Champions League last 16 first leg on February 12 at Old Trafford with the return leg taking place on March 6.
The player collided with an adversary just after the hour mark and appeared to twist his right ankle as he tried to ride the challenge. After being examined by the PSG medical team, the player was subbed by Moussa Diaby and Neymar limped form the pitch in visible distress.
Neymar got injured!
Serious ankle twist, left the pitch in tears! pic.twitter.com/QQTnpIXakB— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) January 23, 2019
An ankle injury last year forced the striker to undergo an operation witch prompted a race against the clock for the former Barça player to be fit for the 2018 Russia World Cup. PSG medics will carry out further investigation and tests today and fans of the Ligue 1 side will hope that the injury is less serious than that of 2018. PSG won the tie 2-0 with and Cavani and Di Maria bagging the goals for the Parisian side.
He’s seriously injured,” boss Thomas Tuchel said after the match. “It’s the worst thing that could have happened to us.”
The French Ligue 1 Champions released an official statement on their website on Sunday that read: “Marco Verratti’s MRI scan conducted after the match against Guingamp confirmed a twisted left ankle without any further damage. “The evolution of the injury over the coming days with treatment and further examinations will allow the club to establish how long the player will need to fully recover.”
PSG could be short on midfield options by the time they visit United if Verratti isn’t back in time, with the want-away Adrien Rabiot currently being frozen out by Tuchel.