Football
Jonathan Johnson, PSG correspondent 6y

Thiago Silva in PSG squad vs. Marseille, Dani Alves ruled out

MARSEILLE -- Paris Saint-Germain captain Thiago Silva has been deemed fit enough to be included in coach Unai Emery's 18-man squad to face bitter rivals Marseille in Le Classique at Stade Velodrome on Sunday but Dani Alves has been ruled out.

Silva, 33, missed the wins away at Dijon in Ligue 1 and Anderlecht in the Champions League after picking up a right thigh injury while on international duty during the most recent break but the Brazil central defender has been deemed sufficiently recovered to travel to Marseille.

Alves, 34, is a surprise absence and has been left behind in Paris to receive treatment on an unspecified injury.

Fellow right-back Thomas Meunier has been struggling with an ankle problem recently and had been expected to miss the clash after further tests on the niggling issue but the Belgium international has been included and should now replace the Brazilian in the starting XI.

Aside from Alves, Emery has picked a full-strength PSG squad and the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are now in line to start in their first Classique with Les Parisiens.

There was no room in the Spaniard's travelling party for Lucas Moura and Christopher Nkunku, who have both been left behind and are not reported to be injured, while Hatem Ben Arfa was omitted once more.

Youth academy graduates Alec Georgen, Lorenzo Callegari, Antoine Bernede, Remy Descamps and Moussa Diaby also failed to make the cut.

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