Thomas Tuchel: It Will Be 'Super Difficult' for Neymar to Face Manchester United

It will be "super difficult" for Neymar to face Manchester United in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain in February, according to manager Thomas Tuchel. 

The Brazilian fractured a metatarsal in PSG's 2-0 win over Strasbourg last Wednesday, and Tuchel was not confident he'll be fit to return for the Parisians' trip to Old Trafford on February 12.

Asked if Neymar might return to action in time to be involved in the first leg, the German told Canal+ (h/t MailOnline's David Wood):

"It's going to be super difficult. It is still too early to talk about a return date because we need to wait and see how 'Ney' reacts to treatment to be more precise. It is still too early to talk about a return date."

Goal relayed further comments from Tuchel on the matter:

PSG will meet the Red Devils in the last 16 of the Champions League, with the second leg taking place on March 6.

It's a familiar scenario for the Parisian outfit, who lost Neymar to a fractured metatarsal last season. The injury prevented him from featuring in the second leg of their last-16 clash with Real Madrid, and without him they were unable to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the first and exited the competition.

As football analyst Dave O'Brien demonstrated, his loss will be felt by PSG once again:

When the last-16 draw was made on December 17, it seemed United would have little hope of progressing through the tie.

However, manager Jose Mourinho was sacked a day later. His interim replacement Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has quickly turned things around with eight wins from eight games, having restored some much-needed confidence to the side and adopted a more positive attacking approach.

With Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe in the side, PSG still have plenty of firepower to call on if Neymar is absent, and that's usually enough for them to continue picking up wins each week on the domestic front.

However, Solskjaer's United side will be a significant test, and if Neymar is short of fitness or missing entirely, the tie will be even trickier for PSG.