Barca and Neymar's friendly friction

Neymar has gone to Brazil for the Christmas holidays until 2nd January, when he will have to return to the Barca training complex to start work once more. It is time for a rest, but the forward also wants to make an appearance in a couple of friendly matches which he has been planning for quite some time. One of them will take place today and the other on the 26th.

All the same, at Barcelona they are asking whether, given the star's recent fitness problems, these games are a good idea. Neymar suffered one or two problems in the Champions League match against PSG on Wednesday 10th December, although he was able to finish the game. Two days after that, the club issued a medical statement ruling Neymar out of the league meeting with Getafe at the Coliseum.

This was because of pain in his left ankle which kept the 22-year-old out of training for a week. Last Friday, though, he was passed fit, and Luis Enrique decided to include him in the squad for Saturday's game against Córdoba. All the same, he didn't pick him to start, and in the end did not use him at all as the encounter was won fairly quickly. But it is certain that Neymar's ankle is not at its best, and yet he is still thinking of putting it under strain back in Brazil.