For the fourth time in a row, Neymar sustained an injury in February, which is added to the 10 he has suffered since arriving at PSG in 2017.
A few hours after it was announced that Neymar will not be on the field for a month due to his tenth injury since arriving at Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, the club began to express dissatisfaction with the Brazilian’s way of life. star for that paid 222 million euros.
The last injury, in the left adductor, occurred on Wednesday in a cup match against Caen, second division, just three days after missing the “classic” of French football against Olympique de Marseille. due to gastroenteritis after celebrating his 29th birthday.
The player left the field after a hard tackle last Wednesday, but the injury is muscular and does not appear to be directly related to the blow received, according to specialists quoted by French media.
The sports diary “The teamreveals today that several members of the club estimate that the player’s repeated injuries, who have missed 64 games out of the nearly 170 he could have played in three and a half seasons, are unhappy with the player’s behavior off the field .
A lack of sleep, an inadequate diet and a lack of hydration are, according to them, not in accordance with what a top athlete needs, At the same time, they compare their way of life with that of other stars, such as the Argentinian Lionel Messi and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo.
Injuries are common at this point of the season, especially those to the adductors. It’s the second time it has suffered in a few months, after losing four games last October due to the same problem.
His birthday celebration has already become an event and the footballer himself confessed a few days ago that the party is part of his life.
“Who doesn’t like to party? (…) If I focus 100 percent on football, I will explode. The party is an opportunity to relax, to enjoy it. It’s something I’ll never give up,” said he against TF1 television at the end of January.
For the physiologist Jean-Bernard Fabre, the relationship between the player’s way of life and his repetitive injuries is clear. “If it happens to you, you might think it’s bad luck, but it happens every year,” he assures the newspaper “Le Parisien”.
The specialist believes that last weekend’s gastroenteritis may have been related to his birthday celebration: “ He may have had some alcohol and the lack of sleep could affect his muscular motor skills and tendons. Consequently, it is in circumstances that favor things like this. “
Fabre also believes that vulnerability will increase over time: “The period when it is ‘indestructible’ is already over. With age you pay for all gaps in preparation and recovery. There will come a day when your lifestyle ends. its toll on you “.
The new injury, and the doubts it has raised at the club, arose as negotiations for the extension of his contract, which will expire in June 2022, seemed well on track.
The debate about his way of life is superimposed on the one that the footballer himself opened on Thursday, once the extent of his injury was known, when he considered himself a victim of the harshness of French football.
“Sometimes I feel uncomfortable because of my playing style because I dribble and end up getting beaten. I don’t know if I’m the problem or what I’m doing on the field,” he said on Instagram.
Immediately after the game in which he was injured, Caen coach Pascal Dupraz accused him of provoking rivals and often pretending to be on the field: “I’m not going to cry, I’ll leave that to Neymar.”
The Brazilian star’s father reacted harshly: “Of course you have to cry, because there are coaches like you, referees of this level, negligent and silent competitions.”
In the midst of all that noise, PSG will play Camp Nou on Tuesday without its most decisive player of recent months, something that already seems a habit.
Since arriving in Paris, he has only played three of the six Champions League knockout matches. Last season against Borussia Dortmund it was the only time they both played and also the only time PSG made it through that round, largely thanks to the Brazilian.
Against Barcelona, the first leg will certainly be lost and there will be serious doubts about the return, scheduled for March 10. Neymar will rest for two weeks before starting training in the third and, if all goes well, returning to the group in the fourth.
At best, he could return for the return against Barça, but without a competition rhythm, forcing PSG to face the game without relying on his star much, as it did in 2018 against Real Madrid and in 2019 against Manchester. United.
On those two occasions, the fault was the fifth metatarsal bone, an accidental injury unrelated to his way of life. But now, in Paris, doubts are starting to arise.