Lionel Messi fueled a second-half comeback win for Paris Saint-Germain that will be overshadowed by a gruesome injury to Neymar and his troublesome ankle.
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Messi assisted a pair of goals from Marquinhos sandwiched around his set-up of Angel Di Maria as PSG overcame an early 1-0 deficit.
Neymar had a tough day outside of the win, his sixth-minute goal overturned by VAR before a hard sliding tackle caught his foot at the ankle. The Brazilian megastar’s foot rolled under his leg and he was in tears as he left the match with PSG up 2-1 in the 88th minute.
PSG released a statement confirming that the Brazilian superstar has suffered ankle ligament damage and will be missing for 6-8 weeks.
“Tests carried out last night confirm that Neymar Jr suffered a sprained left ankle with ligament damage. An unavailability of 6 to 8 weeks is to be expected. A new point will be made in 72 hours to specify the evolution.”
That means Neymar will miss two big games coming up this week against Nice and Lens, who both sit in the top of the Ligue 1 table, plus against Monaco next week. This injury means he should return in January, which may rule him out of Brazil’s World Cup qualifiers.
With Neymar out, PSG will need Messi and Kylian Mbappe to step up and Angel di Maria will also play a big role.
Les Parisiens lead the way in Ligue 1
Denis Bouanga gave Saint-Etienne the early lead with a VAR-awarded goal, but their task got bigger when Timothee Kolodziejczak was shown a 45th-minute red card for a “last man back” foul.
PSG had 71 percent of the ball and held a 15-8 shot advantage over Saint-Etienne, who has shockingly slipped to last in the Ligue 1 table.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men are now 13-1-1 and have a 14-point lead on the chasing pack. Nice is in second.
Lionel Messi puts it on a tee for a Marquinhos header #ASSEPSG pic.twitter.com/2DX0374eFX
— Eduardo Razo (@eddierazo_) November 28, 2021