'We need Aurier', says PSG's Matuidi

"Serge is my friend and is the friend of everyone in the dressing room. He is well-liked by everyone," said Matuidi after PSG beat Reims 4-1 at the Parc des Princes as they continued their relentless march towards another French title.

"We know he made a mistake but, as they say, people make mistakes. He has apologised. He will have a discussion with the coach and we hope it will be positive."

Aurier was suspended by the club last Sunday after appearing in a video on the social media site Periscope in which he directed homophobic insults at PSG coach Laurent Blanc and also appeared to insult several team-mates.

He will meet with the club's hierarchy on Monday amid speculation that PSG will not play Aurier again and will look to sell the Ivory Coast international in the summer for a cut-price fee.

But Matuidi added: "We need him, whether it be on the field or off it, because he is someone who is liked by everybody.

"But just like for Zlatan (Ibrahimovic), whose contract is up at the end of the season, I am not the president and I am not the coach. I am speaking as a player, and also as a friend of Serge."

The 23-year-old Aurier has been training on his own in the Swiss city of Geneva, where his agent Stephane Courbis is based, according to Le Parisien.

Aurier could be sacked by PSG, but it is unlikely the club would take such a step when they could expect to sell him for as much as 25 million euros (£19.3m, $27.8m).

An Africa Cup of Nations winner with the Ivory Coast last year, Aurier joined Paris on an initial loan deal from Toulouse in 2014, with the move made permanent last summer.