Paris Saint-Germain 'optimistic' Neymar will be fit to face Real Madrid

Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery has said he is "optimistic" Neymar will be fit in time to face Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 after the Brazilian suffered an ankle injury over the weekend.

The world's most expensive footballer went down in the 77th minute of PSG's 3-0 win over Marseille on 25 February after appearing to twist his right ankle and had to be stretchered off the pitch.

The incident raised fears the £198m ($278m) striker could miss the return leg against Real, but Emery said initial assessments of the injury suggested that it was just a sprain.

PSG lost 3-1 to Madrid in the first leg in Spain and host the defending European champions at the Parc des Princes on 6 March.

"If I had to pick my Real Madrid side now, I would say that Neymar could feature," Emery was quoted as saying by ESPN.

"The first look says it is a sprain. There will be further tests to be totally sure. We are optimistic."

Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola said PSG had a deep enough squad to cope if Neymar is ruled out for the visit of Real through injury.

"He is an important player and we all hope that he will be back quickly," Areola said. "However, I am not a doctor and I do not know how long it will take him to return and if it will be soon.

"Every player is important and we know that we have the necessary quality to deal with inevitable injuries."

Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring for PSG before Rolando inadvertently directed Neymar's pass into his own net to double the home side's lead. Edinson Cavani scored early in the second half to wrap up a 3-0 win for the Ligue 1 leaders in Le Classique.

"You could feel the desire, both in the stands and on the pitch," Emery told PSG's official website. "We maintained our desire to play against a side that tried to stop us from playing tonight."