Ancelotti sweating over Thiago Silva's fitness for Barcelona match

Posted Sunday, April 07, 2013 by Goal.com

The Italian raised concerns over the availability of his star defender against the Catalans in the Champions League, but took heart from Jeremy Menez's performance against Rennes

Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti has indicated his worry that defensive lynchpin Thiago Silva will be unable to take to the field against Barcelona next Wednesday.

The Brazil international has been nursing a knee injury and did not feature during the 2-0 win against Rennes on Saturday, prompting his trainer to give a pessimistic outlook regarding a timely return to fitness.

"It is not very serious, but we have to wait. He feels a pain and I hope he will recover," Ancelotti lamented to InfoSport after their victory.

"We will see in the coming days. I hope he will recover quickly."

The likes of Javier Pastore and Ezequiel Lavezzi were afforded a break in light of the team's upcoming Champions League encounter, as Jeremy Menez boosted his chances of starting against Tito Vilanova's Blaugrana with a superbly taken goal on the night.

"Menez had a good game. He scored a fantastic goal, of extraordinary quality. He also did a good job in the first period," Ancelotti remarked.

"I know his qualities. It's true he has not scored many goals lately, but he has always done a good job for the team. He can certainly help us for the match against Barcelona."

Les Parisiens travel to Camp Nou for the return leg of the quarter-finals eager to build on their 2-2 draw at Parc des Princes earlier this week, and the 53-year-old concluded that their game plan would not be subject to change based merely on Lionel Messi's unavailability through injury.

"Whether Messi is there or not, it's the same for us. I do not think we need to think about these things. We must be focused on the work we have to do on the field, offensively and defensively.

"You must defend against Barca, but that is not our only goal. We must be brave, go for the win and thus the semi-finals."