Neymar blow for Paris St Germain

Paris St Germain will be without Neymar when they face Rennes in Ligue 1 on Sunday.

Thomas Tuchel’s team top the table by 10 points, with three games in hand on second-placed Lille,  ahead of Sunday’s home match at the Parc des Princes.

However, the injury to Brazil international Neymar is causing some concern after the forward suffered a recurrence of a foot issue in Wednesday’s Coupe de France clash with Strasbourg.

Tuchel told a press conference: “It’s still a bit early to comment on Neymar.

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“We’ll follow developments in the next few days but I’m very sad for him. I hope he can come back soon.”

Midfielder Marco Verratti is another absentee with an ankle strain and Tuchel added: “The fact that Neymar and Marco are injured is a sad situation for us.

“It’s always hard to lose key players like them. But we are mentally strong and we have other talented players who can do the job.

“We need to find solutions collectively to keep winning.”

However, defender Presnel Kimpembe, absent since the beginning of the year, could figure against Rennes after proving his fitness in training.

Tuchel said: “It will be a tough match against Rennes. They have good potential in defence and attack, we must be very careful.”

He was reluctant to look ahead to the February 12 Champions League second round first leg visit of Manchester United, adding: “We remain focused on this match. The meeting against United is not for now, we have time.”

Rennes won 2-0 in the corresponding match between the teams last season but their hopes of repeating the upset were not helped by travel issues before and after their midweek cup success over Saint-Pryve Saint-Hilaire.

Boss Julien Stephan explained: “The trip to Orleans was a little different from what we had imagined because of the weather conditions. By plane, we were rerouted on the way and the return from Orleans was done by bus.

“The late return caused the shift of the next day’s training session, meaning we will only have one session to prepare for the match in Paris.

“For sure, there is fatigue but we must go beyond that to play this prestigious match against the best team in France and one of the best three in Europe.”

Goalkeeper Abdoulaye Diallo, defender Ramy Bensebaini and midfielder Jakob Johansson remain sidelined but defender Mexer will be given time to prove his fitness.