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Paris Saint-Germain have expressed their "shock" at doubts in the French media over how genuine captain Thiago Silva's latest injury really is. The French giants thrashed Barcelona 4-0 in their Champions League round-of-16 first-leg clash on Tuesday without the Brazil international, who was ruled out of the match with a left calf problem. Following the famous victory over the Spaniards, L'Equipe cast doubt on the severity of Silva's latest injury -- suffered during the 2-1 home win over Lille -- and quoted an unnamed source as saying the skipper was "frozen with fear" ahead of the Barca encounter. PSG have responded to L'Equipe's claims through a statement exclusive to Globoesporte and explained that his current injury is genuine. "Thiago Silva was injured after the Ligue 1 clash with Lille," the statement from the French champions read. "The diagnosis was heavy bruising on his left calf -- he did not play against Bordeaux the week before the Champions League match at home to Barcelona. "Thiago Silva is our captain, the man of great games, who is always there through the difficult times and is appreciated by the staff and his teammates. Everyone at the club is shocked by the doubts some have expressed about his motivation. "Thiago Silva is still trying to heal the left calf injury that forced him to miss out against Barcelona on Tuesday. He is likely to miss the next match against Toulouse and is not expected back until the Marseille clash at the end of February. "Because of the risk of a relapse, the medical and technical staff preferred to avoid risking jeopardising their end to the season." To finish their explanation, PSG pointed to the example of Silva returning early from his holiday after an unsuccessful 2014 World Cup campaign on home soil to help the team. The 32-year-old central defender was injured as a result and missed two months of the 2014-15 season. "In August of 2014, after a World Cup on home soil, the former Selecao captain chose to make a faster than expected return to Paris and ended up injuring his right thigh. He was consequently out of action for two months," the statement said. With Silva expected back for the trip to face bitter rivals Marseille next weekend, the South American should be fit for the return leg against Barcelona as well.
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