Mauricio Pochettino provides Neymar injury update before second Barcelona leg
By Max Cooper
Mauricio Pochettino has stated he is 'very happy' with Neymar's progress as the Paris Saint-Germain star faces a race against time to overcome his injury troubles ahead of their clash with Barcelona.
The 29-year-old has not featured since the beginning of February after suffering an adductor injury and he was forced to miss PSG's first leg clash with the Catalan giants.
His teammates didn't do too badly without him, beating Barça 4-1 at Camp Nou, and Pochettino has confirmed they could be buoyed by Neymar's presence for the second leg in the French capital.
Speaking in a press conference on Friday, the Argentine claimed he is 'very happy' with the Brazilian forward's progress as he steps up his recovery and said they 'will see' if he can return in time for the big Champions League tie.
“He will not be here tomorrow [Saturday] but we are very happy with his development and we will see in the days to come if he can be part of the squad against Barcelona," Pochettino explained.
Neymar will be desperate to come back into the side ahead of their second leg with Barça on 10 March, as he'll be hoping to show his old teammates what they're missing - while also demonstrating to Lionel Messi what he could be a part of next year.
The Argentine's contract is set to expire at the end of the season and rumours are rife of a potential move to PSG in the summer. However, the French champions have other priorities, which include extending the current contracts of superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
The former is believed to be close to putting pen to paper on a new deal, while Les Parisiens are confident the latter has seen enough progress within the squad to achieve his dreams in the French capital.