Neymar Jr

PARIS — Paris St Germain forward Neymar's latest injury can be blamed on a hectic match schedule and the COVID-19 crisis, coach Mauricio Pochettino said on Friday.

Neymar has been ruled out for four weeks with a groin injury, meaning he will miss the first leg of PSG’s Champions League last-16 tie at his former club Barcelona on Tuesday.

"When you look at the way injuries have increased it is because of the huge workload and the number of competitive games," Pochettino told a news conference on the eve of PSG’s Ligue 1 game at home to Nice.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar said he wants to remain at the Ligue 1 champions and hopes Kylian Mbappé will also pledge his future to the club.

Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona in 2017 for a world record fee of $269.26 million but Spanish media have frequently linked the 28-year-old with a switch back to the Catalan side.

Mbappé has 18 months remaining on his contract in Paris and new manager Mauricio Pochettino has played down reports the French forward could be on the move to Real Madrid.

Neymar was never out of the headlines while at Barcelona and his departure continues to leave ripples at the Catalan club, so all eyes will be on him when Paris Saint-Germain meet the LaLiga side in the Champions League last 16 early next year.

Lyon handed PSG a 1-0 loss at the Parc des Princes on Sunday to move into second place in Ligue 1 and send the home side down to third, but the result was much more devastating than that — Neymar was stretchered off in injury time after an awful tackle from Thiago Mendes that resulted in a straight red card.

Neymar donned a brand spanking new pair of boots made just for him by PUMA on Wednesday. He immediately scored a stunning hat trick against İstanbul Başakşehir. That’s how you justify a $30-million-per-year boot contract.