Paris Saint-Germain will be without Angel di Maria when they take on Barcelona in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie after manager Mauricio Pochettino confirmed he was ruled out by injury.
Di Maria limped off with a knee issue in PSG’s 2-0 win over Marseille in the French top flight over the weekend shortly after playing an assist for Kylian Mbappe to open the scoring.
The first leg of the tie will be played at the Nou Camp on February 16 and when questioned on whether the forward would be available, Pochettino ruled out any chance of the Argentine featuring
‘Yes, it’s over for Angel Di Maria [to play against Barcelona]. We will communicate again in a week to see where we are.’ he said.
The former Tottenham boss though insisted despite the absence of Di Maria, who turns 33 on Sunday, it will not change how he will tactically approach the fixture.
‘The fact of not having Di Maria in Barcelona does not force us to leave our main idea [of how to play]. We will find the best solutions,’ he added.
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No time frame has been given for Di Maria’s return with Pochettino’s words hinting he could be in contention to feature against Monaco five days after the Champions League tie.
With five goals and 12 assists from his 25 games this term, the former Manchester United winger will prove a significant absence to Pochettino ahead of his Champions League return.
