Neymar is among the Paris Saint-Germain players to be ruled out of Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 second-leg tie at home to Barcelona.
The 29-year-old returned to partial training with the PSG squad last week and the club have confirmed the Brazil forward will continue his fitness work individually, therefore missing out against his former club.
A new assessment on his status will be made by the club in the coming days, while teammates Juan Bernat and on-loan Everton forward Moise Kean, who remains in self-isolation due to Covid-19, will also be absent.
PSG hold a commanding 4-1 lead heading into the second leg at the Parc des Princes, thanks to a first-leg hat-trick from Kylian Mbappe and a goal from Kean when the sides met on February 16.
Lionel Messi gave Barca the lead from the penalty spot after Frenkie de Jong had his heels clipped by Layvin Kurzawa before Mbappe responded five minutes later for the visitors. After the break, Mbappe completed his hat-trick with Moise Kean netting PSG’s third goal in between his team-mate’s second-half strikes.
It leaves Barca requiring another considerable comeback heading into the second leg on Wednesday, four years on from the sides’ memorable last-16 clash in which the La Liga outfit recovered from a 4-0 first-leg loss in France by winning the second 6-1 at the Nou Camp.
Barcelona are yet to concede a goal away from home in the Champions League this season (three games), but following defeats against Juventus and PSG in their last two games in the competition, face the prospect of losing three in a row in the European Cup/Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
