Right during their opening game at the World Cup in Qatar, Brazil suffered a massive blow after Neymar Jr had come-off in the 80th minute due to an ankle injury. The winger even showed-off his ankle after the game, which by that time looked like a golf ball due to the swelling. Neymar literally bubble wrapped his leg in a compression boot to kickstart a damage control, as he feared the injury would end his World Cup campaign.
His fears came true to some extent after the physios of the national team ruled him out for the remained of Brazil’s groups stage campaign, with games against Switzerland and Cameroon still pending. But the positive message was, Neymar was in firm contention to recover in time for the knockouts, which Brazil were bound to qualify for. The Neymar-less Selcaos team managed a narrow 1-0 win over Switzerland, but fell to a shocking defeat against Cameroon with a same scoreline. But they welcomed back the PSG winger in their last-16 tie against South Korea, wherein he notched a goal and an assist to help his side prevail 4-1 and book a quarterfinals berth.
I spent the nights crying a lot – Neymar after suffering ankle injury
Neymar’s ankle knock was more devastating than it should have been, since he had shockingly revealed prior to the tournament in Qatar that this could be his final appearance at FIFA World Cup finals, despite just 30-years-old and well capable of gracing the 2026 edition. And suffering a possible tournament ending injury right in the first game was a huge blow to the player as well as his team. Moreover, the ankle injury was a recurring one since he first sustained it during the 2018/19 season with PSG, which forced him out for two months.
It troubled him once again during the the 20/21 and 21/22 seasons, with the highly rated player slowly gaining a reputation of as an injury-prone asset. All that forced him to admit that his body may not sustain the exertion of another World Cup tournament four years later. And it only added to his frustration and utter disappointment after the ankle problems were back to haunt him. Revealing the emotions he went through during the injury, Neymar said after the South Korea game:
“I didn’t feel any pain in my ankle [during the South Korea game] and my performance was very good, so I am happy. [But] For sure, there was a lot of fear [about the injury]. I had been doing very well, a very good season, and to suffer an injury like I did is very hard. I spent the night crying a lot, my family knows, but everything worked out. It was worth it, worth the effort. I stayed up to 11 in the morning that day [morning of South Korea] treating with the physiotherapist, and on the other days up to 5-6 in the morning. All the suffering is valid so that we can crown a title.
“When I got injured a thousand things happened: doubts, fears… and I had all the support from my teammates and family. I received good messages, sending good energy. This comforted me a lot. I thank those who prayed, sending messages. I can’t thank you enough. Now I will do everything for the national team to win, I am here with this mission.”
Neymar and Brazil now return to action on December 9, when they face the runners-up of the 2018 edition Croatia in the quarterfinals. This will arguably be their first real test at the tournament, facing a team who has developed a genuine knack of causing massive upsets. However, the last these two sides squared off at a World Cup tournament, in 2014, Brazil downed Luka Modric’s team 3-1 in the opener of that edition which they hosted as well.