Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel has completely ruled Edinson Cavani out of the upcoming Champions League Round of 16 first leg clash with Manchester United. The 31-year-old Uruguayan striker, despite scoring the only goal in the 1-0 win over Bordeaux on Saturday, could not endure till the final whistle after injuring his hip.
A medical statement released by Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday did not to disclose the extent of Cavani's injury. However, the worst was confirmed when it was revealed that the ex-Napoli attacker failed to travel with the rest of the squad to England on Monday.
Addressing the press ahead of Tuesday's clash, Thomas Tuchel highlighted the frustration about missing both Cavani and Neymar Jr. The latter is also out of action for 10 weeks after injurying his metatarsal in an encounter with Strasbourg earlier.
"Neymar is one of the key players in Europe and we cannot replace him," he stated.
"Would Manchester United miss Pogba, if he was not there tomorrow? Of course. Would they miss Rashford, if he was not there? Of course they would. You cannot replace quality players like these.
"Of, course we miss him a lot and now we miss a second key player with Edi [Cavani]. And with Marco [Verratti], we have a player with only 60 minutes in his legs."
#MUPSG@PSG_English are put through the paces on the Old Trafford pitch
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) February 11, 2019
#AllezParis pic.twitter.com/9EQUpAcAx6
In the absence of Cavani and Neymar, Mbappe is expected to fill the void left by the pair. Nonetheless, Thomas Tuchel has iterated that he is not keen on tasking the 20-year-old Frenchman with the responsibility of two.
"You can't just place all of the burden and pressure on Kylian," he explained.
"But we're talking about Mbappe. He has his own qualities. It's not really his job to replace Cavani and Neymar, and he can't do all three things at the same time. He can't be himself and the other two. He has to be free to play his game, to play with confidence and I want us to be capable to help him.
"[That means] to provide him with the right kind of support and passes. In my opinion, he needs to play with a good mindset, as it were. He needs to be positive and realize that he's here, it's part of his development. I think it's the kind of moment when you really are able to develop as a player."
Paris Saint-Germain will also be without full-back Thomas Meunier who sustained a concussion against Bordeaux over the weekend.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
