Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and co. are due to resume training this week as they prepare for two cup finals and the return of the Champions League
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were among the Paris Saint-Germain stars to report back at the club’s training ground on Monday.
Thomas Tuchel’s first-team squad attended the Ooredoo Centre to undergo medical checks, including Covid-19 tests, ahead of a planned return to training on Thursday.
A total of 27 players reported back to the club on Monday, the notable exceptions being Edinson Cavani and Thomas Meunier, who are due to leave the club at the end of this month.
As a result of their upcoming departures and the end of their current contracts, Cavani and Meunier will not play for PSG when the Champions League resumes.
Tuchel’s men are expected to have further tests until Thursday, when training will resume in small groups.
BACK … @PSG_inside pic.twitter.com/tKXSD9sDqW
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) June 22, 2020
PSG have not played since their 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in March.
Ligue 1 was the only one of Europe’s top five leagues to have its season declared over due to the coronavirus pandemic, with PSG confirmed as champions based on a points-per-game final table.
At the time of the cancellation, PSG had a 12-point lead over second-place Marseille while also maintaining a game in hand.
Stade de Rennes rounded out the top three, with seventh-place Lyon challenging the decision to cancel the league while threatening legal action over what they saw as a premature conclusion.
However, French authorities are set to allow the finals of the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue to go ahead on July 24 and 31 respectively. PSG will face Saint-Etienne in the former and Lyon in the latter.
They will then compete in the remaining rounds of the Champions League – reorganised into a form of mini-tournament in Lisbon – in August, before the 2020-21 season gets underway.
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PSG are one of four teams to seal their place in the quarter-final round, joining Atalanta, RB Leipzig and Atletico Madrid by successfully navigating the round of 16 prior to the coronavirus cancellations.
There are still four matchups still to be determined, though, with Real Madrid facing Manchester City, Chelsea looking to find a miracle comeback against Bayern Munich, Lyon taking on Juventus and Napoli meeting Barcelona.
Neymar, who has won Ligue 1 three times since making the move to Paris, says that he is determined to lead the club to glory in the Champions League this year in an effort to deliver the club its first European triumph.
