Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are set to start for Paris Saint-Germain against Liverpool in their crunch Champions League tie on Wednesday after recovering from injuries, coach Thomas Tuchel said.
“They are fit and in form. They are fine. They did a full training session today and yesterday. There is no problem, they will start tomorrow,” Tuchel said at a press conference at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
“If they were not fit they could not play but they did not complain at all yesterday and today, and for me right now there is no risk.”
The two most expensive players in the world came off injured playing for their countries in international friendly matches last week, with Mbappe hurting a shoulder with France and Neymar a groin with Brazil.
Both players have scored 13 goals in all competitions this season, and the injuries caused alarm bells to ring at PSG as they watched Saturday’s tight Ligue 1 win against Toulouse from the stands.
PSG come into Wednesday’s game in third place in Champions League Group C, a point behind both Liverpool and Napoli with two games left.
Neymar AND Kylian Mbappe are back in training for #PSG ahead of tomorrow night's Champions League clash with #LFC! pic.twitter.com/M6f0usS1GV
— Sport360° (@Sport360) November 27, 2018
That means a defeat against last season’s runners-up, coupled with a win for Napoli at home to Red Star Belgrade, and the French champions would be eliminated already from a competition they are desperate to win.
“It is super important that we do no lose focus and think about what could happen,” said Tuchel, who has won all 14 Ligue 1 games in charge since being appointed at the club in the close season.
“We have to play this game relaxed, but at the same time 100 percent focused on what we have to do.
“We cannot control the result, nobody can in football, and for that, no matter what the result is, the sun will shine the next day again and we will have to get up out of bed and go to work, whether in a better mood or a not so good mood.
“It is sport, and we are looking forward to this challenge.”
