Neymar to miss next two World Cup games

Brazilian playmaker Neymar is set to miss his country’s next two World Cup games against Switzerland and Cameroon. He sustained an ankle ligament damage in the win over Serbia and hobbled off the pitch in the 80^th minute of the match.

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He was then seen in the team dug-out with a towel covering his face, whilst he received treatment and his ankle was clearly swollen after the challenge by Nikola Milenković.

However, initial fears that this could mean an early end to his tournament were subsequently dispelled by the team doctors who confirmed that he should be fit to return for the knock-out rounds if Brazil gets that far – which they are widely expected to do.

During the match against Serbia, Neymar was fouled nine times, which is four more than any other player at this World Cup so far.

In the eyes of many, this is Neymar’s last chance at World Cup glory, especially in a country where winning it borders on being a national obsession.

He will turn 31 in February, and although he could potentially still be involved in four years’ time with the national squad, injuries are threatening to take their toll.

And, so far, the World Cup has not been kind to him.

In 2010, despite his precocious talent, he was left out of the squad that travelled to South Africa. The Brazil coach at the time did not feel that he was ready to handle the pressure of playing on the global stage.

Four years later, by now an established superstar, he was widely expected to help carry Brazil to a sixth World Cup on home soil.  But, playing against Colombia in their quarter-final win, he sustained a cracked vertebrae and watched helplessly from his hospital bed, as they were humiliated by Germany in their semi-final in Belo Horizonte,

Injuries again hampered his progress in the World Cup in 2018, and he was never fully fit during the tournament, only taking to the field after receiving pain-killing injections. Brazil got to the quarter-finals, but were then out-played by Belgium.

Since then, he was forced to miss Brazil’s Copa América triumph in 2019 with torn ligaments in his right ankle, and, last year, was out for several weeks with a similar injury issue.

This time round Brazil arrived in Qatar as pre-tournament favourites, and with a team of other young stars like Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, and Raphinha ready to take some of the pressure and responsibility off Neymar to be the main man for his team.

Despite that, he continues to crave World Cup success because he feels it will define his legacy and right to be placed in the pantheon among the best players in the world. For example, he has never won the Ballon d’Or, and lifting the trophy in Qatar would help him win that award.

Both the player and the whole of Brazil will have their fingers crossed that his current injury is not more serious than first thought.