Neymar injury: How long will PSG star be out for & which games will he miss?

Paris Saint-Germain's victory over Saint-Etienne on Sunday, November 28 came at a cost, after Neymar was stretchered off in the closing moments.

Neymar had to be taken from the field during the last act of the 3-1 win at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard after twisting his ankle in a messy challenge, with the Brazilian clearly distraught as he was removed.

While a hat-trick of Lionel Messi assists ensured that Mauricio Pochettino's side earned another three points, they may be left to rue the repercussions of another lay-off for one of their star men and GOAL has taken a look at just what this latest knock could mean in the long run.

What happened to Neymar?

Having provided a lively threat throughout against PSG's hosts, Neymar looked to simply be on the end of a clumsy challenge from Yvann Macon, mere minutes after the visitors had taken the lead for the first time through Angel Di Maria.

Yet, as he attempted to evade the tackle, he landed awkwardly back on the turf with his foot rotated sideways, placing the full weight of his body upon his twisted ankle.

The attacker promptly went to ground in agony, with players from both sides quick to summon assistance from the touchline, and he was subsequently removed by stretcher, with Eric Ebimbe taking his place for the final few minutes.

How long will Neymar be out for?

Neymar is expected to be out of action for approximately six weeks following his ankle injury.

The player took to social media to update his fans on his condition, while boss Pochettino acknowledged they would have to wait and see how bad the injury was.

"For the moment there is nothing to say," the Argentine said in his post-match commments. "He felt pain from the twist of his ankle. Tomorrow, he will take exams and we will know a little more about his injury."

Ankle injuries can be a notoriously tricky to predict in terms of recovery - lay-offs can range between a handful of weeks and half-a-year or more - but from Neymar's own previous knocks of a similar nature, we can perhaps predict just how long he may be out.

He has been sidelined twice with ankle issues since arriving at PSG - the first time in June 2019, when a ruptured ligament kept him out for over two months, although he missed just the one game for them given it transpired over the off-season.

Then, he was forced out for just short of four weeks late last December, in a spell that stretched through mid-January, after picking up an ankle issue against Lyon, which saw him sit out five matches in the end.

What games will Neymar miss?

If Neymar is going to be out of action for six weeks, he will miss a significant portion of games.

The Brazilian could be absent for only some of the below fixtures, as PSG contend a busy schedule - or he could be missing for most of them.

Further reading

• Neymar stretchered off after horror injury in Saint-Etienne clash
• Ronaldo's only ambition is to win more Ballons d’Or than Messi'
• Why Pochettino can't win with Messi, Neymar & Mbappe