Neymar Jr is set to miss the UCL Round of 16, second leg clash against former team Barcelona as Paris Saint Germain have opted to not risk their star player as he continued to work his way back from an injury. The Brazilian star has been out of action since suffering an abductor injury in a French Cup match against Caen on February 10. Brazilian Returns To Training Ahead of Barcelona Clash in UCL 2020-21.

Neymar Jr recently returned to training with the Paris Saint Germain squad and it was suggested that he might make his return against Barcelona in the Champions League. However, Mauricio Pochettino will not be risking his star forward as the Parisian giants are well poised to advance in the competition after winning 4-1 in the first leg.

‘We are very happy with his development and we will see in the days to come if he can be part of the squad against Barcelona,’ Pochettino had said after the Brazilian resumed his training but has decided against calling up his star player for the match.

PSG in an official statement ahead of their midweek clash against Barcelona stated that Neymar Jr will not be a part of the squad but will continue to do individual work on his recovery. ‘Neymar JR resumed partial training with the squad last week and will continue his individual recovery work. A new assessment will be made in the coming days,’ the club said.

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Juan Bernat and Moise Kean were the other two stars on the sidelines and both won’t be playing a part against the Catalan giants. PSG stated that the left-back will continue his rehabilitation process while Kean is still under isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.

Paris Saint Germain are in a comfortable position to get over the line against Barcelona nd will be hopeful of avoiding a repeat of the collapse against the Catalan giants in 2017, where they surrendered a four-goal lead in the second leg.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2021 05:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).