Barcelona winger Neymar will sit out Wednesday’s Copa del Rey semi-final second-leg tie with real Sociedad despite returning to training earlier in the week.
The Brazil international has not featured for the Catalans since suffering an ankle injury against Getafe last month in the same competition.
Though he has returned to training, coach Gerardo Martino says he will not rush him into taking part in Wednesday night’s game.
“He (Neymar) completed his second session with the team,” Martino said.
“He is doing a good job and he’s not in pain. Physically he’s doing well.”
Barcelona go into the second leg with an edge after the first leg at the Camp Nou ended 2-0 in their favour, but the Argentine says they can’t afford to allow their opponents to fight back.
“We have to play as if the first leg ended in a 0-0,” he said. “It’s a decisive game. It would be a bad idea to give our rival a chance to get back into the tie.
“We need to have control – we can’t allow the match to turn into a back and forth affair. We need to own the match, not let our rivals be protagonists.
“They will try to fight back but I want the team to be consistent throughout the 90 minutes of play.”
The winner of the encounter will be up against Real Madrid, who knocked out Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, in the final of the competition.
