Brazil began their FIFA World Cup 2022 with a dominant 2-0 win over Serbia and Tottenham Hotspur striker Richarlison gave the South American nation plenty to cheer, at the Lusail Stadium. However, there was a concerning image as their captain Neymar was seen in tears after picking up an ankle injury.
Neymar, who was taken off in the 80th minute of their Group G opener against Serbia, was seen limping and a photo of his swollen right ankle would certainly give Brazil coach Tite and their fans a couple of sleepless nights.
Neymar was seen getting an ice-pack treatment on the bench after he was replaced by Manchester United’s Antony, Neymar was holding his ankle after a hard tackle from Nikola Milenkovic of Serbia before he was replaced.The Paris Saint-Germain star, who was subject to as many as nine fouls in a physical game between Brazil and Serbia, did not look comfortable as he watched the rest of the match from the bench. Neymar hit top form as early as Brazil’s opener, playing a key role in Richarlison’s first goal. He was potent up front, helping Brazil dominate play and set an early marker at the World Cup in Qatar.
However, Brazil coach Tite is confident that Neymar would be able to carry on and continue playing in the World Cup in Qatar.”We are confident that Neymar will continue playing, he will continue playing in the World Cup,” Tite said, adding he was initially unaware of Neymar’s injury.”I didn’t see Neymar was hurt. And he had the capacity to overcome this, he even tricked me.”
Furthermore, Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said after the game that they would need 24-48 hours to assess Neymar’s injury and take a call on his tournament future.”Neymar has an injury on his right ankle, a direct trauma,” Lasmar said. “Due to the impact from the knee of the Serbian player, we started immediate treatment on the bench.
“He continues with the physio, but now need to wait 24-48 hours for a better assessment. There is no MRI scan scheduled, but tomorrow we will make a new assessment. We need to wait and cannot make any premature comments.”He felt this pain throughout the game, but chose to stay on the pitch to help his team for 11 minutes after his injury. It’s remarkable that he did this,” he added.
Brazil, who are on top of Group G, will next face Switzerland on Monday. The Swiss side picked up 3 points on Thursday, beating Cameroon 1-0.
