Despite Injury, Javier Pastore Is Under Pressure to Perform for PSG

Javier Pastore is an enigma. The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder has always been a gifted talent, but since joining the Ligue 1 club, he has not quite reached the heights originally hoped.

Ahead of October's Ligue 1 clash with AS Nancy, another chapter of his epic story emerged. It was originally reported by French newspaper Le Parisien, via RMC Sport (in French), that after continued problems with his calf, he would have to return to Madrid for special treatment, which would rule him out until 2017.

It looked like another blow in his career. This was supposed to be his season, the campaign in which he finally became a star for the capital club.

When he joined from Palermo for €42 million in 2011, he enjoyed an excellent first season, scoring 13 times in 33 games. Then Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived and the tactics in Paris changed, and it affected Pastore’s displays.

The Argentinian is most comfortable as a No. 10, but as the likes of Blaise Matuidi, Marco Verratti and Lucas Moura began to play in Laurent Blanc’s 4-3-3 system, Pastore found it difficult to make his mark.

Some of his best football came when Ibrahimovic was missing through injury. Able to find pockets of space, he would help PSG be at their creative best. However, he was never going to outperform the Swedish forward.

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In his first four seasons, he played 130 league games, with 21 of them coming from the bench. Since December 2011, according to Transfermarkt’s records, Pastore has missed 48 games due to injury, with the most recent the sixth time calf problems have been labelled as the cause.

Le Parisien’s original article (in French) said the Argentina international would spend the rest of the week in Madrid but would return to the French capital for the rest of his treatment, with the hope he can finally be rid of his injury problems.

It was reported Pastore would have to find a way to correct his posture and wear corrective orthopaedic soles in order to protect his calves.

Quickly, the player responded to these reports on Twitter.

“This information in untrue!!!!” Pastore tweeted. “Always speaking of bad things, without knowledge.”

He added on his official Instagram account, per Eurosport, "I want to clarify the situation: I am doing recovery work in Madrid with a physiotherapist from Paris Saint-Germain who is here with me all the time. I hope to recover quickly. It will be before two to three months which were announced in the media."

The next update, reported by ESPN FC’s Jonathan Johnson, was that the midfielder would miss out until the November international break and that he could be back for the Ligue 1 fixture against Nantes on November 19.

Pastore would only miss five games, including Sunday’s match against Marseille at the Parc des Princes and both Champions League fixtures against FC Basel, but he would be back in time for the trip to London to face Arsenal at the Emirates.

With everyone trying to work out exactly what’s going on, the news services went into overtime, and the following day, Canal+ began to report that everyone else was wrong and that Pastore could actually make his return during Le Classique against Marseille.

In the space of less than a week, his return date had gone from 2017 to November.

This uncertainty and lack of clarity is similar to the entirety of Pastore’s time at the club. He is a polarising figure, and no one is quite sure what PSG can expect of him and whether he can ever become the player they hoped they had bought in 2011.

During his usually controversial radio show, former Birmingham City and France striker Christophe Dugarry labelled Pastore a “dismal failure.”

The forward admitted that he is a definite talent, but as important as player performance is, the ability to link games together is much more vital. Dugarry suggested that although his play was magical when on the pitch, if you had to pay for the ratio of matches he has actually managed, it would hurt.

Sidelined by problems with muscle fibres, tendon strains, calf problems, shin issues, hamstring, groin and conjunctivitis, Dugarry joked that Pastore’s list of injuries was worse than his own.

He also suggested that talent is not just down to what you can do on the pitch, but how consistently you can find that level.

It’s hard to argue with his point. No one has ever doubted what Pastore is capable of—the problem comes when you want or expect him to do it on a regular basis.

There was hope at the start of the season. Emery played 4-2-3-1 during their tour of the USA, and it destroyed Olympique Lyonnais in the Trophee des Champions, with Pastore starring in the 4-1 win.

The 27-year-old was excellent. Playing in his No. 10 role, he linked up the attacks, drifted into space and was at the heart of everything PSG did well.

Suggestions in the French press made it clear that senior players in the squad had declared their unhappiness at the formation and that the Spanish boss should play the old 4-3-3 instead.

It seems that Emery has bowed to their will, and disappointingly, the trio of Blaise Matuidi, Marco Verratti and Thiago Motta are back in their starting positions.

The formation just doesn’t suit Pastore. 4-2-3-1 was perfect. It helped get the best out of him, and with the signing of Hatem Ben Arfa from Nice and the imminent arrival of Giovani Lo Celso in January, they have the players to make it work.

As shown again at the weekend, 4-3-3 has become stale and lifeless at PSG, and Emery was supposed to bring life to this team. That was the whole point of his appointment.

We will soon find out the true nature of Pastore’s injury. As expected, he missed the away trip to AS Nancy, but if he misses the derby against Marseille, then it means Canal+ have been ill-advised.

Whenever he returns, all eyes will be on the former Palermo man. Pressure and competition is coming from Lo Celso—the Rosario Central man looks like he has everything that Pastore promised.

This is the No. 10's last chance. He was already under the spotlight going into the campaign, but now the heat has been turned up.

If he fails to put in the performances that will lift this team and show that he can be part of a positive future, then there is really no reason to keep Pastore at the club.

PSG will find it hard to find a suitor this winter, especially if he fails to play again this year. However, in the summer, there will be options. Teams in Italy, Spain and Germany are almost certain to be tempted to gamble on such a talent, although it’s hard to see a Premier League team showing a keenness to sign a player with so many injury problems.

Even if he can’t do enough to save his career at the Parc des Princes, Pastore, once fit, at least needs to show himself that he can operate at the highest level.