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Cavani confirmed out of Manchester United showdown

ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP / Getty

Edinson Cavani will miss Tuesday's opening round-of-16 match against Manchester United due to a hip injury.

The frontman suffered the injury in Paris Saint-Germain's 1-0 win over Bordeaux on Saturday. He joins teammates Neymar and Thomas Meunier on the list of absentees for the first leg at Old Trafford.

"Neymar is our key player - one of the best in Europe," manager Thomas Tuchel said during Monday's press conference, according to ESPN's Jonathan Johnson. "Edinson Cavani will also be missing, so yes, of course, those absences weaken us."

Cavani has scored twice and set up one goal in six Champions League outings this season - a rather subdued haul by the Uruguayan's standards. He has been at his most prolific in Ligue 1, recording 17 goals and four assists across 16 appearances.

With Neymar and Cavani nursing injuries, there's greater pressure on 20-year-old Kylian Mbappe to be his side's main source of goals. Tuchel urged Mbappe to not simply "replace" the unavailable South American pair, and instead "play his game."

Manchester United, meanwhile, have no such injury concerns. Marcos Rojo, Antonio Valencia, and Matteo Darmian are all ruled out for the first match with PSG, but they have just three appearances between them since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over and masterminded 10 wins and one draw in 11 matches.

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