Paris (AFP)

Neymar withdrew from the knockout stages of the Champions League on Tuesday at Barcelona, ​​his former club, because of a "lesion of the long left adductor," PSG announced Thursday.

Injured Wednesday in Caen in the Coupe de France, the Brazilian striker is unavailable "about four weeks", which suggests his presence for the return round against Barça on March 10.

This is the second major forfeit for coach Mauricio Pochettino, after that of Angel di Maria, hit in a thigh on Sunday in Marseille.

The Argentinian technician will have to compose without two of the "Fantastic Four" for this eagerly awaited poster, four years after the "remount" imposed by Barça on PSG (6-1 on the return, 0-4 on the first leg).

Neymar, then in the blaugrana jersey, had been one of the main architects of this historic evening.

This very hard blow, contracted with a resident of Ligue 2 (1-0), in the 32nd of the Coupe de France, recalls the heavy liabilities of N.10 in terms of injuries.

Since his recruitment in the summer of 2017 at a gold price (222 M EUR), "Ney" has accumulated absences at times when his club needs him the most.

In 2018, he missed the round of 16 second leg against Real Madrid due to a sprained right ankle, coupled with a crack in the 5th metatarsal of a foot.

The following year, it was the two confrontations against Manchester United, still in the 8th, that he missed, due to an injury to his right foot.

Each time, PSG have been eliminated.

But in 2020, his excellent form allows PSG to smash their records, and reach the final for the first time in their history, lost to Bayern Munich in August (1-0).

This epic made Neymar feel good in Paris, where he expressed the wish to extend his contract expiring in 2022.

© 2021 AFP