Neymar, Marquinhos won't join PSG training next Monday

According to the French newspaper Le Parisien, PSG won't take any risks with their returning internationals in preparation for the second half of the season.

The news is related to the expected return to Camp des Loges by Brazil internationals Marquinhos and Neymar, who won't join PSG next Monday and will instead delay their comebacks to the training ground.

Earlier on Thursday, there were conflicting reports about the future availability of both World Cup performers at PSG's training facilities at the start of next week. It's now clearly being reported by Le Parisien that Paris Saint-Germain won't rush their players back.

PSG have a game scheduled for Fridray morning that Neymar and Marquinhos were always expected to miss. Now PSG are entering a more perilous territory with Dec. 28 marked in their calendar as the return to Ligue 1 action with a game against Strasbourg at the Parc des Princes then.

Neymar and Marquinhos, assuming they won't be back on Monday, will have less than a week of training ahead of the return of the Ligue 1.

PSG won't rush their World Cup players back, allowing them 10-plus days of rest after completing their international duties

That, simply put, will make for a rather hard comeback in time for the first competitive game of the season for both Brazil internationals and all other players representing their countries at the World Cup over this and last month.

Le Parisien attach this decision to coach Christophe Galtier, who had given returning players a 10-day vacation after they got eliminated from the competition but is now opening his hand even more giving those players more room for their comeback.

Keylor Navas, part of the Costa Rica squad, was the first PSG player eliminated back on Dec. 1 but has yet to return. It's been two weeks already.

Navas, along with Pablo Sarabia and Carlos Soler (both eliminated from contention on Dec. 6 after Spain's defeat to Morocco) are expected back at the training ground "soon", but still without a date set in stone.

When it comes to both Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, appearing in the Final next Sunday will most probably rule them out for both Dec. 28 and Jan. 1 games as part of the Ligue 1 campaign, considering their 10-day vacations would run through Christmas and that they would need even more rest than any of the other returning players.

Tough, tough days ahead for PSG and coach Galtier when it comes to managing a very shallow team for the start of the second half with high-stakes games to play including a meeting with second-place RC Lens on New Year.