Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has rejected speculation that Neymar could be dropped to give him some rest – saying he fears he’d be killed for such an act.
The Brazilian has been in sensational form this season, scoring 16 goals from 17 league matches so far, but with Barca going for unprecedented back-to-back trebles in 2016, they remain live in three different competitions, having won the Club World Cup in December.
The workload looked to have taken its toll on Neymar, with the forward nursing a hamstring injury during the midweek Copa del Rey quarter-final win over Athletic Bilbao, as well as picking up a knock to his foot during the 3-1 victory.
But with tomorrow’s match against Atletico Madrid potentially going a long way to deciding where the La Liga title could end up in May, Enrique has quashed talk of Neymar missing out.
When asked about his fitness by Spanish newspaper AS, he said:
“Neymar and Jordi Alba are both fine; I’ll pass on your best regards to them.
“He took a knock to his foot. It would be just as risky not to field him – they’d kill me.
“Do you get my drift? He won’t be rested just for a knock, he’ll play.”
Barcelona go into the match tied on 48 points with Atletico at the top of La Liga, with match in-hand still to play.
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