The German giants will have to Compete with Neymar on Tuesday when they meet Paris Saint-Germain from the last-16 of Their Champions League
Neymar will play in Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League last-16 first leg against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, Thomas Tuchel has verified.
The Brazilian worldwide has been out of action since suffering a rib injury on February 1, missing four games since then in national competitions.
He was confirmed in PSG’s squad before on Monday, as the Ligue 1 champions prepare to go up against Tuchel’s former team to get a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Kylian Mbappe is also back in the squad after being rested for Saturday’s thrilling 4-4 draw with Amiens, but the focus was on Neymar’s possible participation.
Tuchel says he’ll play, barring any last-minute difficulties in training.
“Neymar is here, he’s feeling well,” the German trainer told reporters. “He coached today [Monday] and will be playing tomorrow if nothing happens during training.
“Obviously, it changes everything if he plays and I expect it is going to be a positive thing.
“If we’ve got Ney on the area, he’s got the capability to perform decisive things. That affects everything: for his team-mates, for Kylian.
“It gives me confidence, but also the team. That seems obvious to me.”
Neymar has been in extraordinary form this season, scoring 13 times and setting up another six goals in his 14 Ligue 1 games.
The most expensive player of all time has just played twice in the Champions League this term, however, scoring once.
PSG were pumped out in the last-16 last season by Manchester United and Tuchel says his group are willing to improve on that finish this time around.
“The larger the match, the greater the pressure, the less you need to add,” he added.
“Before a game like this we must prepare yourself, but prepare for it a few months before kick-off. I have the impression that we’ve been ready for many weeks. Now’s the time to establish it.
“It is difficult in this phase, I don’t know if it is possible for 90 minutes, but we must play with plenty of intelligence.
“Things get emotional, we’ll need to adapt. It’s a really high-tech game in a stadium with enormous fans. We must keep calm and careful.”
