Tuchel, boss of PSG, declares "super difficult" for Neymar to face Man Utd

Neymar is unlikely to play when Paris Saint-Germain will visit Manchester United in the Champions League next month, according to head coach Thomas Tuchel.

The Ligue 1 champions announced that the world's most expensive player had suffered a "painful reappearance" of the injury he had inflicted on his right foot last season after defeating this week's 2-0 win on Strasbourg in the Coupe de France.

PSG returned to the game in the absence of his star striker Sunday, leaving 4-1 Rennes against Edinson Cavani.

While the match was playing, RMC Sport reported that Neymar would not be fit to play in the first leg of the first leg of the last 16 meetings at Old Trafford on February 12th.

Talk to Cbad Plus Tuchel then acknowledged that it was the most likely outcome.

"It's going to be very difficult," he said.

"As I explained it [on Saturday] it is too early to talk about a date of return. We have to wait until the first week, which is very important, and its response to treatment.

"Only after that we can be more precise, but it will be very difficult – it's not a secret."

While Cavani and his team-mates Angel Di Maria and Kylian Mbappe can substitute Neymar quite skilfully, Tuchel's team is not as busy in central midfield.

The absence of Marco Verratti's injury and the exile of Adrien Rabiot's first-team affairs forced Brazilian defenders Marquinhos and Dani Alves to form a two-man center against Rennes.

This makes Leandro Paredes' highly controversial signature in Zenit all the more urgent, although Tuchel has alleged that the deal should not be concluded this weekend as planned.

"I have been waiting for him for a few days, but he is not there," he said.

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"I was looking in the shower, in the locker room, in the treatment room, with the goalkeepers … but it's not there."

Before the showdown with United, PSG have to face two tough league matches against Lyon and Bordeaux.

Their win on Sunday has allowed Parisians to win 13 points on Lille, which occupies the second place, while the PSG has two games in hand and could bring this margin to 19 points.