Thiago Silva injury: Paris Saint-Germain defender hurts leg in friendly

Thiago Silva has picked up a leg injury, and under pretty strange circumstances. He was forced out of Paris Saint-Germain’s friendly match against Napoli in the 13th minute, and appeared to injure himself while attempting an unorthodox and unnecessary backheel clearance in his own penalty area.

PSG’s season has already started, so the timing of this friendly was curious. Napoli wouldn’t have been too pleased if PSG just opted to play a youth and reserve team, but giving Thiago Silva a run-out might have been a bit of a dubious decision. If he’s seriously injured, they’re going to seriously regret it, though Marquinhos and David Luiz should make a solid central defense pairing.

Thiago Silva was widely considered the best central defender in the world very recently, but didn’t look like himself in the World Cup third-place game, and wasn’t great against Stade de Reims in PSG’s Ligue 1 opener either. This injury certainly isn’t going to help him find his form.

It’ll be a day or two before we know the severity of the injury, but it’s looking pretty bad.