Paris Saint-Germain have received a major boost with the news that Neymar has sufficiently overcome his bout of Covid-19 to feature in their squad for Sunday’s Classique against rivals Marseille.
News broke that the Brazil international had tested positive for the virus at the beginning of the month along with several other team-mates. Of those players who were among the initial cluster at the club, Angel Di Maria, Keylor Navas and Leandro Paredes are ready to take part in the Parc des Princes clash.
Speaking on Saturday, head coach Thomas Tuchel suggested that he would recall the four stars.
“They want to play, it's clear. I will decide tomorrow. We must not wait too long if there are no risks,” the former Borussia Dortmund boss explained.
Neymar, meanwhile, had announced his return to collective training earlier in the day via social media.
He posted: “I went back to training, super happy #CORONAOUT”.
On the other hand, Kylian Mbappe, who turned in a positive test while on international duty with France, continues to miss out. Also absent are Marquinhos and Mauro Icardi, though they hope to return for the midweek encounter against Metz.
Marseille boss Andre Villas-Boas is eager to take advantage of PSG’s situation in the match, having watched Lens beat them 1-0 on Thursday.
“They are in a moment of weakness,” he said. “We have the ambition to play and to win.
“It's an important game. We want to take advantage of the absences and lack of training of those who will return. It might be a chance. We saw that against Lens. It's a good time to give this joy to the supporters.”
The former Chelsea boss did, however, admit that PSG’s selection situation also posed him problems.
“What is annoying is the lack of information and the timing. There is uncertainty over how many players Tuchel can pick back up,” he added.
“But it is clear that they cannot be 100 per cent.
"We had players in this situation and it's tough, but I think after Thursday's loss they will come back strong. They want to get players back. I am preparing the team to play against PSG with all their strength."
Marseille have not beaten PSG in their last 20 meetings.
