PARIS -- Paris Saint-Germain will start their Coupe de la Ligue title defence away at Strasbourg on Wednesday without Neymar after the 18-man squad for the clash was named without him.
The Brazilian superstar has been back in his homeland since last weekend because of a "family issue," and coach Unai Emery admitted in his prematch news conference earlier on Monday that the 25-year-old might not be back in time for the trip to Stade de la Meinau.
"He called me on Saturday morning to tell me that he has some family issues going on," the Spaniard told journalists at Camp des loges. "He asked for permission to go to Brazil. It was important to him.
"We spoke with Antero [Henrique], who authorised it. I hope that he stays for three or four days, but the most important thing is that the problem be resolved. We will wait. I do not know whether he will be back in time [to face Strasbourg]."
Emery is facing something of an availability crisis ahead of Wednesday, with captain Thiago Silva, midfielder Adrien Rabiot and left-back Layvin Kurzawa all out injured, and vice-captain Thiago Motta not yet fit enough to return to the squad after a recent knee operation.
On top of that, second-choice left-back Yuri Berchiche is suspended because of the yellow card he received during the surprise 2-1 defeat to Strasbourg in Ligue 1 recently.
Hatem Ben Arfa is left out once again and Emery revealed on Monday that he and Lucas Moura were both suffering from illness. However, the Brazilian has finally been passed fit to at least travel with the squad for the round of 16 clash.
Emery has called upon youth academy starlets Yacine Adli, Alec Georgen and Stanley N'Soki because of the volume of missing players.