Paris St-Germain striker Neymar is set to miss the rest of the season as he needs surgery on an ankle injury. The latest news sparked concerns of a possible move out of PSG – Rumours he vehemently denied.
The Brazil forward was carried off with an injured right ankle during PSG’s 4-3 home win over Lille on 19 February. In a statement, PSG disclosed that the 31-year-old has suffered several “instances of instability in his right ankle” over recent years and surgery is needed to “avoid a major risk of recurrence”. The Club added it will be three to four months before he can resume training.
Neymar has suffered a number of injury problems with his right foot over the past few years. He missed two of Brazil’s matches at the 2022 World Cup after being injured in their opening group match against Serbia.
The former Barcelona player also missed the 2019 Copa America after suffering torn ligaments in his right ankle and was out for several weeks in 2021 with a similar injury.
He has scored 13 Ligue 1 goals and contributed another 10 assists for PSG this season. Christophe Galtier’s side are eight points clear at the top of the table as they seek an 11th French top-flight title.
They take on German side Bayern Munich in the Champions League round of 16 second leg on Wednesday looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first fixture. Their final league match of the season is against Clermont on 3rd June, 2023 with the Champions League final scheduled to take place on 10 June.
Has He Already Played His Final Game For PSG?
There are concerns that Neymar’s time at ParisSaint-Germain could be coming to an end soon following his latest severe injury which is a blow to PSG’s hopes of winning the Champions League.
Since Neymar arrived at Barcelona in 2013, the majority of his injuries have been to the ankle and it is clearly a problem area for the player.
It is estimated that, whilst at PSG, if you include the three to four months it will take to recover from this new injury, Neymar will have missed 731 days through injury. That is around two years of being unavailable for selection.
Even before the injury, the rumors about a future for the Brazilian away from Paris were already beginning. PSG was believed to be seriously considering the sale of Neymar due to the player’s performance after the World Cup in Qatar.
According to reports from Le Parisien, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, PSG President, valued Neymar at 60 million euros and tried to negotiate his sale to Chelsea.
The problem of the negotiation lay in the high salary of the player and in the fact that he was not going to accept leaving.
Despite Neymar’s name appearing prominently in some transfer rumours, the Brazilian does not have plans to leave PSG at least until June 30, 2027, when his contract with the club ends. According to the French newspaper L’Equipe, the striker is very clear that he will fulfil his contract.
It remains to be seen exactly what happens, but it doesn’t help Neymar’s case that the next time he’ll be available for selection will be next season.
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