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There was positive news about the form of Neymar and Thomas Tuchel’s Kylian Mbappé before Paris Saint-Germain’s game against Lorient.
PSG coach Thomas Tuchel said the prospect of Neymar returning to action for this weekend’s Ligue 1 clash against Lille “is not impossible”.
The Brazilian superstar, who has scored three goals and as many assists in seven Ligue 1 appearances this season, was carried off the field on a stretcher at the end of Sunday’s surprise 1-0 loss to Lyon.
Initially it was reported that Neymar, who was crying when leaving the field, had suffered an ankle fracture as a result of the entry that saw Thiago Mendes expelled after a VAR review.
However, a club statement on Monday revealed that tests on the injury were “reassuring” and that further tests would be carried out.
While not fit enough for PSG’s clash with Lorient on Wednesday, Tuchel is hopeful Neymar will return before the mid-season break, which begins after his team’s meeting with Strasbourg on 23 December. .
Tuchel on the return of Neymar
“I can only say that it is not impossible for him to play again [before the break], “ Tuchel said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“We will all try our best for the Lille match, but we will have to wait for the results of their tests tomorrow. Then we can provide more details.”
Tuchel also provided an update on the physical condition of Kylian Mbappé, whom he described as in a “red zone” after he only played the last 25 minutes of the weekend.
While Tuchel is not convinced Mbappé will be able to play in all three PSG games over the next week, he is confident that Ligue 1’s top scorer will be fit enough to start against Lorient.
“I don’t know if he will be able to play in the three games”, said the German. “We will have to see how his muscles respond.
“But before the most recent training session, I felt like he could be a starter tomorrow for us, but we’ve had a lot of surprises in the final training sessions this season so I’m taking it with caution.
PSG’s loss to Lyon was the sixth in 20 games in all competitions this season., his worst total at this stage since 2009-10 when he also lost six times.
They enter their mid-week clash with Lorient third in Ligue 1, one point behind Lille and Lyon in an open title race, with Marseille one point behind and two games in hand.
Before this game, the last time PSG were out of the top two this season he was ahead of his 23rd match in 2016-17 when he was also third.
Tuchel agrees that big improvement is needed on their side against Lorient, who have beaten in their last nine Ligue 1 outings, their current best joint streak against any opponent, tied with Angers and Metz.
“Everyone thinks the pressure is enormous, but the truth is, I work with a team and a squad and for me, what is expected of us is already the maximum.” he said.
“It is not possible to feel a greater pressure from you or from outside. We always maintain a positive attitude. It is football, sport, it is a challenge.
“I don’t know exactly the classification. It was not a good enough performance in the last game, but we are the favorites and that is not going to change.”
“I hope everyone now understands that this is not enough. After the success of the Champions League with a lot of pressure, maybe it was a decompression phase for a few days.
“Maybe I would have changed more, but I didn’t do that, I trusted the players. I decided to leave the team almost unchanged, but we were not mentally ready to play this game.”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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