PARIS (AFP) - Neymar, who is already on holiday in Brazil, is skipping Paris Saint-Germain's last match of the year "with my permission", manager Thomas Tuchel told a press conference in Paris on Friday (Dec 21).
PSG's star striker posted Instagram images of himself in Brazil with his family on Thursday.
Neymar was rested for the club's previous match, against Orleans in the French League Cup on Tuesday because of thigh pains.
Asked on Friday, on the eve of a Ligue 1 match against Nantes, if the club had signed off on Neymar's early departure, Tuchel answered "Yes."
The player "left with my permission," the coach said adding, with a laugh: "it's better that way!" Neymar's last appearance was against Red Star Belgrade in a key Champions League match on December 11 when he scored as PSG won 4-1 to secure a place in the last 16.
"Ney played injured against Belgrade," Tuchel said. "It was a risk but it was super important to take the risk. We are glad that things were not worse after the match. He wants to play every game, against Orleans and Nantes.
"It's always the same with him, but it's time to be smart and take no chances with this injury."
Tuchel said Neymar could now "stay relaxed and rest for two weeks". PSG are 10 points clear and are unbeaten in Ligue 1 this season. Visiting Nantes are mired in mid-table under former PSG coach Vahid Halilhodzic.
After Saturday, PSG's next match is against Pontlivy, from the regional fifth division, in the French Cup on January 6. Their next league match is at Amiens on January 12.
Tuchel said he was hoping to use the break to strengthen his squad.
PSG seem likely to lose midfielder Adrien Rabiot and have yet to entirely replace central defender Thiago Motta who retired in the summer but Tuchel said he wanted duplicates of two of the club's current starters.
"It's easy," Tuchel said. "Another Marco Verratti and another Marquinhos and I'll be happy." "Top lads with a personality and the highest quality are hard to find."
English Premier League Alex Iwobi, Alexandre Lacazette lead Arsenal to win at Huddersfield. Arsenal had suffered four defeats in their last nine league games, including a 3-1 loss at Manchester City last week, but Alex Iwobi put them ahead in the 16th minute with a deflected shot.
Football: Iwobi, Lacazette lead Arsenal to win at Huddersfield
A fired-up Arsenal needed just 15 minutes to take the lead. Emery urges Suarez to take his chance as Arsenal chase top four Emery. Gunners are the only club in English football not to keep
Gunners march on but Emery seeks stronger starts | Daily Mail
Atletico Extend Lead Over Real With Narrow Win Over Eibar during the Spanish league football match between SD Eibar and Club Atletico de Madrid at the Ipurua stadium in Eibar on April 20, 2019
Atletico extend lead over Real with narrow win over Eibar
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino remained defiant despite his side losing 1-0 to Bournemouth and having two men sent off. Pochettino defiant as poor Tottenham form continues
Pochettino defiant as poor Tottenham form continues | Free
Fulham dig deep to deny Newcastle and earn first clean sheet Fulham's Joe Bryan in action with Newcastle United's Kenedy. Fulham secured their first clean sheet of the season with some dogged defending in a 0-0 draw with Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday.
Soccer: Fulham dig deep to deny Newcastle and earn first
Watford squeeze past QPR into FA Cup last eight. 1 Min Read. Soccer Football - FA Cup Fifth Round - Queens Park Rangers v Watford - Loftus Road, London, Britain - February 15, 2019 Watford's Troy
Watford squeeze past QPR into FA Cup last eight - Football
If his status as one of the Amsterdam club's most exciting prospects in years did not place enough pressure on his shoulders, there is the added burden of being the son of Ajax and Barcelona
Why Dutch Clubs Sell Their Best Players - Football Oranje
The fine art of celebrating goals in the beautiful game of football. The Africa we all want is an Africa of opportunities. Five things from the Premier League this weekend.
European football Five things we learned in this weekend
Croatia were forced to dig deep as they came from behind to beat unfancied Azerbaijan 2-1 at home in their opening Euro 2020 Group E qualifier after forward Andrej Kramaric scored a 79th winner on
Football: Kramaric nets late winner as Croatia beat
Many people think that heel spurs cause heel pain—but that's not always the case. According to the Cleveland Clinic, one out of 10 people have heel spurs, but only one out of 20 people with a heel spur experiences heel pain. Others may experience symptoms that include tenderness, a dull ache, or sharp pain when standing.
Pochettino: Spurs need to believe - The Irish News
Liverpool will spend Christmas on top of the Premier League after goals from Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk earned them a 2-0 win at Wolves on Friday, opening up a four-point lead over second
Liverpool seal Christmas top spot as Salah, Dijk sink Wolves
META-INF/MANIFEST.MFname/audet/samuel/shorttyping/ShortDictManager$BufferedStream.classname/audet/samuel/shorttyping/ShortDictManager.classname/audet/samuel
Join LiveJournal
There is one massive reason Arsenal got thrashed last night in the Europa League final against Chelsea and that is the manager Unai Emery. Now, I will say straight up I am not calling for him to be sacked or anything like that and I do believe that he needs at least one more season to try and build the team in his image but neither will I make any more excuses for him.
The Straits Times - Breaking News, Lifestyle & Multimedia News
0 comments:
Post a Comment