Neymar has been left out of Paris Saint-Germain’s squad for the team’s upcoming league match at Nantes after suffering a rib injury.
The Brazilian’s absence comes just days after he celebrated his 28th birthday with teammates at a Paris nightclub, an occasion which PSG manager Thomas Tuchel admits was not ideal preparation for Tuesday’s Ligue 1 encounter.
According to PA Media, Tuchel said: “Is it the best way to prepare for a match? No, clearly not. Is it the worst thing in the world? No. I always protect my players and I really love my team. With this party I accept that it is a bit difficult to protect the players but the context is not simply black or white.
“It is a shame because we are giving people the chance to speak badly of us. We need to adapt to the situation but I am not going to leave a player on the bench or at home because they went out and celebrated.”
Neymar played the full 90 minutes of PSG’s 5-0 win over Montpellier at the weekend, but the club has since said its record signing suffered a cartilage injury in the first half.
Since singing for the Parisian club in 2017 for a world record fee, the forward’s career has been hampered by injury, restricting him to just 51 league appearances.
He celebrated his 2018 birthday on crutches with a metatarsal injury. According to the club’s official website, Neymar has started 14 of PSG’s 22 league games this season.
