Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar reacts after getting tackled during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Lyon (OL), on Dec 13, 2020 at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. (FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

PARIS - Paris St Germain were given some relief after learning on Monday that Neymar’s ankle injury was not as bad as first feared, after the forward was carried off on a stretcher during Sunday’s 1-0 defeat by Olympique Lyonnais.

Neymar is likely to recover in time for the first leg of PSG’s Champions League last 16 tie against former club Barcelona in Feb

Neymar, who suffered serious foot injuries in 2018 and 2019, was seen crying as he left the pitch in stoppage time following a tackle from Lyon’s Thiago Mendes, who was shown a straight red card.

But luckily for Neymar and his club, PSG’s medical report said the first scan on the Brazilian was “reassuring”, stating that he had twisted the ankle rather than fractured it and would undergo further tests in the next two days.

The news means Neymar is likely to recover in time for the first leg of PSG’s Champions League last 16 tie against former club Barcelona in February. It will be his first meeting with the Catalans since leaving them in 2017 for a world record fee of 222 million euros (US$269.95 million).

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“My tears were from the pain, desperation, fear and anxiety of surgery, crutches and other horrible memories,” Neymar wrote on Instagram.

“It could have been worse, but once again God spared me something more serious.”

Neymar’s father, meanwhile, said his son needed more protection.

“How long will this curse last? We speak about it a lot, but we still permit excessively violent tackles,” he wrote on Instagram.