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Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel has ruled superstar Neymar out of Sunday’s Ligue 1 clash with Lyon at Parc des Princes.
The Brazil international, who turned 28 during the week and celebrated in style last weekend, picked up his rib injury during last week’s thrashing of Montpellier in the capital.
Speaking ahead of the Lyon game, Tuchel said the Champions League round of 16 first leg trip to Borussia Dortmund is on his mind with Neymar.
“Neymar, Marquinhos and Thiago Silva are back in training,” he told a news conference. “However, Lyon is a bit too early for them. We are taking no risks with Neymar before Dortmund.”
Tuchel said he hopes to have Neymar back for next week’s Coupe de France quarterfinal away at Dijon, along with fellow Brazilians Marquinhos and Silva.
Lyon is a clash Neymar has missed every season since joining PSG in 2017. He played away against them for the first time in Ligue 1 this season, scoring the only goal of the match.
The former Barcelona forward has also only featured in one of four Champions League latter stage fixtures at the club.
Despite being credited with the opening goal in the midweek win away at Nantes, Tuchel also said he was concerned over Mauro Icardi‘s recent dry run of form.
“I am a bit worried about Mauro right now,” he said. “He is thinking a bit too much in front of goal. The only way to regain confidence is to play.”