Injured Neymar to miss rest of World Cup
- adamhigginsuk
- Jul 4, 2014
- 2 min read
NEYMAR will not feature again at the 2014 World Cup after breaking a bone in his back during Brazil’s quarter-final win over Colombia.
The Barcelona forward fractured his vertebrae when kneed in the back by Juan Zuniga late on in the 2-1 victory at the Estadio Castelao.
The 22-year-old, who was passed fit to start after suffering knee and thigh injuries in the round of 16 against Chile, tearfully left the field on a stretcher and was taken to a nearby Fortaleza hospital.
Neymar, Brazil’s leading scorer at the tournament with four goals, will now miss Tuesday’s semi-final with Germany and either the final or third place play-off.
Team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar believes Neymar has broken his third vertebrae in the lumbar region of his back, told Brazil’s Sport TV: “Unfortunately he’s not going to be able to play.
“He is very, very sad. It’s not serious in the sense that it doesn’t need surgery, but he’ll need to immobilise it to recover.
“The exact time [to play again] can be four to six weeks, but it is too early to confirm this. Let’s wait for other tests.
“This is the first diagnosis we had. Initially, we know he will not be able to play.”
The former Santos player was withdrawn on 88 minutes after the challenge from defender Zuniga, which Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo played advantage for.
But he did not take further action against the Napoli full-back, much to the dismay of La Selecao coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.
“Not even a yellow card, nothing. People think Germany, these or the others, only they are hunted, but not Neymar,” Scolari said.
However, Zuniga is adamant he did not intend any harm, insisting: “I never meant to hurt a player. It was a normal move.
“I was playing for the shirt from my country, not with the intent to injure. I was just defending my shirt. Sadly this happened. Hopefully, with God’s help, he’ll recover.”
Anxious fans flocked outside the Sao Carlos Hospital in Fortaleza after news of where the World Cup poster boy had been taken quickly spread.
After being released, Neymar subsequently flew back to Rio de Janeiro with the rest of his team-mates before being transported to their Teresopolis training base by ambulance.
Brazilian legend Ronaldo has since claimed that Neymar was deliberately injured by what he described as a “violent” and “aggressive” challenge which had the intent to “actually cause some harm”.
Comments