Football
Ian Holyman, France correspondent 9y

Laurent Blanc: Thiago Silva brings his assurance to PSG

Laurent Blanc has acknowledged Thiago Silva will "try to reassure himself" in Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League game against APOEL on Tuesday after the Brazilian admitted he was "a little afraid" of returning to action.

Silva, 30, has not played for more than two months after damaging his right thigh in a friendly against Napoli on Aug. 11. On Sunday, the PSG captain had told Canal+ he did not feel confident about going back out onto the pitch, despite being fully fit physically.

Nevertheless, he is expected to be named in PSG's starting XI in Nicosia where Blanc, 48, will put the former AC Milan defender in the heart of his defence, and the former French international is convinced his captain will shine.

"He brings his great individual qualities. He's an immense player," he said. "He brings his assurance, even if he's coming back after two months out. He will try to reassure himself before reassuring the others. He's a great player, and the more great players there are, the better the team is."

Blanc, who left Silva out of last Friday's league game with Lens despite having declared the Brazil international fit, has little choice other than to play the centre-back with both Marquinhos and David Luiz themselves sidelined by injury.

The PSG boss will also be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who continues to struggle to shake off a heel problem. The Swede's central role in Blanc's 4-3-3 formation will be taken by Edinson Cavani, who was booked for miming shooting a rifle at Lens fans after scoring in his team's 3-1 win at the Stade de France.

The Uruguay international was then sent off for his protests against the yellow card, and Blanc revealed the former Napoli forward has been planning a new celebration should he find the net against APOEL.

"He has to think about something else. He fully understood what happened, and that's why he was annoyed," he told RMC. "He's going to move on to the Champions League, because he'll be forced to have a rest in the league. He's a great professional, and I hope he's going to prepare well for the game. I know what he's going to do if he scores. I hope he won't be punished for it."

Cavani filled in for Ibrahimovic when PSG saw off Barcelona a fortnight ago to leave themselves top of Group F. They now have a double-header with APOEL, who will start as underdogs against the French champions.

Though Blanc's squad should still have sufficient power to see off their Cypriot rivals, PSG midfielder Javier Pastore admitted they would still feel the absence of their Swedish superstar.

"He's an important player for us. We miss him. We try to do our work well, but it's always difficult. Since he came here, he's done a lot of great things for us," the former Palermo player, who could find himself pushed up on the left-hand side of PSG's attacking trident, told the press.

"It's an important match. If we win, it will confirm the good work we did against Ajax and Barcelona. I hope we'll be very focussed and motivated. The most important thing is to get through the group stage, and to do that you have to win."

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