Chelsea beware! PSG set for major injury boost in Champions League | OneFootball

Luis Enrique will have key player back for rematch of Club World Cup final in Paris

Joao Neves looks on track to return for Paris Saint-Germain in their high-profile Champions League last-16 first-leg meeting with Chelsea.

The Portuguese playmaker is a key figure in PSG’s midfield but has not played since the 2-2 draw with domestic rivals Monaco in the second leg of their knockout play-off tie on February 25 after suffering an ankle injury.

However, it was reported in the French press that the 21-year-old was expected to make his comeback on Wednesday night as Chelsea travel to face the Champions League holders in an initial rematch of last summer’s Club World Cup final, which the Blues won 3-0 in the United States.

“We will see tomorrow, I don't want to give any clues to our opponent,” PSG boss Luis Enrique said at his pre-match press conference when asked if Neves would start against Chelsea.

PSG got Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele back off the bench in the most recent meeting with Monaco after he had been sidelined since the first leg of the play-off tie as his injury-hit season continued.

He should return to Enrique’s attack against Chelsea, with one of Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue or Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to drop out.

A start for Neves would likely come at the expense of teenager Dro Fernandez, a January signing from Barcelona, rather than the influential Vitinha or Warren Zaire-Emery.

Matvei Safonov will be in goal for PSG, with Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes the first-choice full-backs. Captain Marquinhos will also be pushing to return after Willian Pacho and Illia Zabarnyi started in central defence against both Monaco and Le Havre.

PSG remain without Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz, who continued to follow an individual training plan on Tuesday as he works his way back from a knee injury that has kept him out of action since the league phase defeat by Sporting on January 20.

Young forward Quentin Ndjantou, meanwhile, is a long-term absentee and expected to miss a period of months after undergoing surgery on a hamstring tear in early February.