Barcelona vs PSG | Champions League Deflated due to another injury absence
Neymar isn’t having an easy time of it lately.
The Brazilian is suffering away from the pitch, and those who know him best see it clearer than anyone. He’s trying to battle back from his umpteenth injury, and he’s trying to escape the tortuous maze that he has again found himself in.
“He’s really, really fuc*ed up,” someone close to Neymar said. “He’s taken a lot of bad knocks, but this one was too much.”
Neymar‘s latest injury has proven to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s come at a key point in the season, when competitions start to be decided, and just before the Champions League’s return. It was supposed to be his first return to play at the Camp Nou.
He had plenty of reasons to look forward to that night on March 16. It would be a return to his former home, a game against Lionel Messi, and a chance to show Barcelona that he’s a better player than the man they tried to replace him with: Ousmane Dembele.
Some of Neymar‘s injuries have just come from misfortune, but others have come from overly physical play from his opponents. In December and February, he suffered two injures because of his opposition.
The first was against Lyon, and the latest came against Caen. Neymar felt like he was the target of foul play against the latter.
“How long will the victim be at fault?” Neymar‘s father questioned two months ago, and this week he has spoken out again.
“My son has to cry because there are coaches like you, referees of that level, negligent and silent leagues, biased and cowardly journalists in sport,” he said.
Last year, Neymar was close to missing out in the knockout rounds against Borussia Dortmund, but he recovered just in time.
In 2018/19 he missed out against Manchester United, and was also absent against Real Madrid in 2017/18. In both ties that he missed, Paris Saint-Germain were knocked out.
On top of all of that, he had to miss out on ‘his’ World Cup in Brazil after being on the end of a tough tackle.
With four weeks on the sidelines ahead, Neymar has been ruled out for the first leg against Barcelona and is a doubt for the second, with it being played 31 days after his injury.
At the moment, his emotions are raw. He believes that he needs to be protected more.
One of his tattoos reads ‘everything passes’, and it will this time as well, but Neymar is struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
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