Champions League

Neymar 'ruled out of Bayern Munich second leg with ankle injury'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 20 February 2023

Neymar will miss Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League last-16 second leg against Bayern Munich due to his ankle injury, according to a report.

Paris Saint-Germain manager attacker Neymar has reportedly been ruled out of the second leg of their Champions League last-16 clash with Bayern Munich due to his ankle injury.

The Brazil international, whose time at the Parc des Princes has been plagued by numerous fitness problems, had to be carried off on a stretcher during his side's triumph over Lille on Sunday.

Neymar collided with Dogues midfielder Benjamin Andre, rolling his ankle in the process, and he was tearfully taken off the field as PSG eked out a dramatic 4-3 victory.

Les Parisiens confirmed after the game that Neymar had sustained a sprained ankle, but the grade of his injury was not specified, and no timeframe has been placed on his return by the club.

However, Le Parisien now reports that the Brazilian is set for between three and four weeks on the sidelines, thus ruling him out of the trip to the Allianz Arena on March 8.

Brazil's Neymar celebrates qualifying for the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup on December 5, 2022 © Reuters

Neymar did not sustain any fractures in the incident, but having partially torn the ligaments, he will also miss crucial Ligue 1 contests with Marseille and Nantes this month, and his participation in clashes against Brest and Rennes in March is also in doubt.

The former Barcelona man has already missed 104 matches for PSG through injury or illness since joining in 2017, having also suffered problems with his ankles in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

A similar issue threatened the attacker's participation at the World Cup, as he injured his ankle during Brazil's opening win over Serbia, but he recovered in time for the knockout stages as the Selecao lost to Croatia in the quarter-finals.

Speaking to reporters after Sunday's victory, Christophe Galtier insisted that "bad luck" had nothing to do with Neymar's fitness concerns, instead laying the blame on the unforgiving list of matches.

"This is not bad luck. There are always reasons for injuries - the schedule, the sequence of games. It is never random. He is being examined to know the severity of his sprain," Galtier said.

PSG's Neymar goes down injured on September 10, 2022 © Reuters

"Of course, it complicates things and that's the way it is. We have to keep our heads down. We're going to do it again, but with a victory. That is more pleasant."

Galtier's men will travel to the Allianz Arena on March 8 with a one-goal deficit to make up from the first leg at the Parc des Princes, where Kingsley Coman scored the only goal of the game.

As well as his multitude of ankle problems, Neymar was notably absent for two Champions League last-16 ties against Real Madrid and Manchester United in 2018 and 2019 respectively with foot fractures.

Les Parisiens were eliminated from the competition on both occasions without Neymar, falling to a 5-2 aggregate loss to Real before Man United edged their 2018-19 two-legged affair on away goals.

Neymar scored and set up Kylian Mbappe in Sunday's win over Lille prior to his injury, taking his tally for the season to an impressive 18 goals and 17 assists from 29 outings in all competitions.

Les Dogues threatened a magnificent comeback from 2-0 down through Bafode Diakite, Jonathan Bamba and Jonathan David, but Mbappe and a last-gasp Lionel Messi free kick ensured that PSG would not suffer a fourth successive game without a win.