Brazil boss Tite has confirmed that Neymar will play again this World Cup after he was spotted in tears after coming off the pitch late on during the Selecao’s 2-0 win over Serbia.
The Paris Saint Germain man, who was the most fouled player on the pitch, seemingly hurt his ankle after a sliding challenge from Serbian centre-back Nikola Milenkovic in the second half, and needed to be replaced 10 minutes from time.
He was then spotted on the bench with his shirt over his head, with fears that he could suffer a repeat of the 2014 tournament and miss a key part of the World Cup for the Selecao.
And later images showed hefty swelling on the 30-year-old’s ankle as he limped away after his side’s win saw them move to the top of Group G ahead of their clash with Switzerland next.
This sparked fear that his tournament could be over, in a potential repeat of 2014 where he missed his side’s 7-1 defeat to Germany through injury.
However, Brazil boss Tite has since moved to calm those fears, confirming that the PSG man will continue to play on, and has not suffered a serious injury.
“Don’t worry, Neymar will play the World Cup”, he confirmed after the game. “He will keep playing, you can be sure about that”
That will come as a major relief to those keen to see the Selecao succeed, as well as Neymar himself, who is just two goals behind Pele in Brazil’s all-time goalscoring charts.
Whether or not he will be able to recover in four days time, before Brazil take on Switzerland, is another matter. But, it seems as though he will be ready for the knockout rounds.
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