Thomas Tuchel: Kylian Mbappe Can't Replace Neymar, Edinson Cavani vs. Man United

Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel says it's not Kylian Mbappe's job to replace injured duo Neymar and Edinson Cavani ahead of his side's UEFA Champions League last-16 clash with Manchester United.

Ligue 1's defending champions travel to Old Trafford for the first leg of their knockout encounter on Tuesday. Cavani scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Bordeaux on Saturday but had to come off at half-time due to a hip injury.

Neymar has already been confirmed as an absentee for the clash due to the metatarsal injury he suffered in January, but Tuchel told reporters it's not up to 20-year-old Mbappe to save PSG's attack in Manchester:

“You can’t place all of the burden and pressure on him. It’s not his job to replace Cavani and Neymar and he can’t play all three roles at once. I want us to provide him the right kind of support.

“You cannot replace quality players, and we cannot replace Neymar. Manchester United could not replace [Paul] Pogba or [Marcus] Rashford. We cannot replace Neymar.”

Between them, the PSG trio of Mbappe (22), Cavani (22) and Neymar (20) have scored 64 goals in all competitions this season, and losing two thirds of that corps is a terribly timed blow for Les Parisiens, per ESPN UK:

Their 48 goals in Ligue 1 account for 70 percent of the club's league goals this campaign, and ESPN FC pundit Alejandro Moreno examined Tuchel's options travelling to Old Trafford:

Star midfielder Marco Verratti will also be lacking match fitness after he made his return from injury with an hour-long outing in the win against Bordeaux.

Thomas Meunier has also been ruled out after he suffered a concussion in that match. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer referred to the Belgium defender as one of PSG's missed figures, per sportswriter Chris Winterburn:

Brazilian right-back Dani Alves is no bad alternative in that area, but PSG will struggle to replenish their attack with anywhere near as much quality as they would have had with a full squad.

It seems likely former United record signing Angel Di Maria will deputise on one flank for PSG. Julian Draxler is also likely to fill in as part of PSG's attack, and the German spoke highly of Cavani's impact following his blow against Bordeaux, per BBC Sport's Simon Stone:

United have made huge strides under Solskjaer and are unbeaten in 11 matches since he took over, most recently defeating Fulham 3-0 on Saturday, when the in-form Rashford, 21, was rested in place of Romelu Lukaku.

The expectations Mbappe has generated for himself at such a young age come with the territory of being so talented, but even manager Tuchel isn't expecting the youngster to beat United's defence on his own.